PBGC01-RQ-16-0041_01_solicitation.pdf

NSN 7540-01-152-8070 STANDARD FORM 30. (Rev. 10-83) Previous Edition unusable Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

Page of Pages AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT 1. Contract ID Code

2. AMENDMENT MODIFICATION NO. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NO. 5. PROJECT NO. (if applicable)

6. ISSUED BY CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than item 6) CODE

(x) 9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NO.

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NO.

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (NO., Street, Country, State and ZIP Code)

CODE FACILITY CODE

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of offers is extended, is not extended.

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning ______ copies of amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

or (c) By separate letter or telegram which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OR OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment your desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by telegram or letter, provided each telegram or letter makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required)

13. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO MODIFICATION OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS. IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

Check One

A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE

CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not, is required to sign this document and return _______ copies to the issuing office.

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible)

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR 16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

15C. DATE SIGNED

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

16C. DATE SIGNED

Table of Contents

PAGE 2 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

SECTION

. 1 Performance Work Statement

. 2 Technical Exhibit 1 - Government QASP

. 3 52.212-1 Addendum 1

. 4 52.212-2 Addendum 2

PAGE 3 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

SECTION

. 1 Performance Work Statement

1. PROJECT TITLE: Securities Lending Benchmarking Services.

2. BACKGROUND: The PBGC has over $50B of lendable securities, over $5B of which are on loan, generating about $20M in securities lending income annually.

Ensuring that the PBGC earns an appropriate return from its securities lending programs at an appropriate level of risk is in keeping with the expected standards of asset stewardship and prudence.

3. SCOPE:

3.1. Objective(s): To assist in the monitoring of the PBGC securities lending program and the securities lending market to ensure that the PBGC earns an appropriate return from its securities lending programs at a level of risk in keeping with industry standards for prudent asset stewardship.

3.2. Performance Areas:

3.2.1. Performance area 1 – Securities Lending Benchmarking and Market Trend Analysis

3.2.2. Performance area 2 – On-call Securities Lending Advice

3.2.3. Performance area 3 – Securities Lending Briefings to PBGC Leadership

3.3. Project Parameters:

3.3.1. Performance area 1 – 4 (Quarterly) Benchmarking Reports per year and 1 Annual Benchmarking report per year.

3.3.2. Performance area 2 - Average number of requests for advice per year 1;

examples of which include assistance in coordinating a Request for Information panel of Securities Lenders and proofreading of securities lending recommendations and policy memos (3 times, with memos under 10 pages).

3.3.3. Performance area 2- Ad hoc phone meetings have averaged 2 per year for 20 minutes.

3.3.4. Performance area 3 - Securities Lending Briefings to PBGC Leadership have totaled zero over five years, and are unlikely to exceed 2 per five years.

3.4. Limitations and Constraints:

3.4.1. The Contractor shall consider the constraints of the PBGC securities lending program described in the Investment Policy Statement:

“Securities Lending: Securities lending to generate income through a low risk collateral investment strategy is allowed, consistent with parameters established by the Board and investment policies and guidelines. Securities lending collateral is excluded from the calculation of asset allocation targets. PBGC staff will provide program performance and violation reporting to the Board.”

PAGE 4 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

4. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS:

None

5. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS:

5.1. Task 1 (performance area 1)– Provide Securities Benchmarking and

Market Trend Analysis

5.1.1. Contractor shall access PBGC lending agents’ data (State Street Global

Markets and BlackRock) from the Securities Lending Data Vendor on or before the fifteenth business day following the end of the Quarter.

5.1.2. Contractor shall benchmark PBGC’s two (2) agent lenders (State Street Global Markets and BlackRock) data against the lending securities market.

5.1.3. Using individual loan data for loans of PBGC assets provided by the PBGC’s two agent lenders the Contractor shall aggregate and summarize the lending performance of the agent lenders versus the universe of securities lenders by comparing utilization, yield and income and assessing the risk of the cash collateral investment vehicles.

5.1.4. Contractor shall analyze the characteristics of the Cash Collateral reinvestment vehicles used by PBGC’s agent lenders to reinvest cash collateral received for securities loans of PBGC assets.

5.1.5. The Contractor shall analyze securities lending and cash collateral market trends over the most recent Calendar Quarter.

5.1.6. The Contractor shall provide a summary of its analysis from subtasks

5.1.2 through 5.1.5 in a draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report within 15 business days following availability of data from the Securities Lending Data Vendor for PBGC’s agent lenders.

5.1.7. The draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report shall be based on the most recent Calendar Quarter, be clearly labeled, document assumptions and simplifications, and include a summary of the securities market and cash collateral market trends. The Contractor shall explain how securities lending and cash collateral market changes impact PBGC’s securities lenders, cash investments, and overall risk and income from the PBGC’s lending program.

5.1.8. The contractor shall review the draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report with the agent lenders prior to delivery to the PBGC.

5.1.9. The Government will have 10 business days to review the draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report and shall request a phone meeting during that time to discuss the draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report prior to requesting changes. The contractor shall discuss any element of the report in further detail during these phone discussions and be prepared to discuss the market trends portion in depth.

PAGE 5 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

5.1.10. The Government will provide a written list of changes within 15 business days of receiving the draft Quarterly Benchmarking Report and the Contractor shall have 5 business days to make the changes and deliver the final report.

5.1.11. The Contractor shall provide a draft Annual Benchmarking Report within 10 business days following the completion of the final Quarterly Benchmarking Report for the quarter ending September 30.

5.1.12. The draft Annual Benchmarking Report shall be based on at least the last four quarters of the PBGC fiscal year ending September 30 and will use individual loan data for loans of PBGC assets provided by the PBGC’s two agent lenders. The Contractor shall summarize performance by utilization, yield and income and assess the risk of the cash collateral investment vehicles.

5.1.13. The Contractor shall analyze securities lending and cash collateral market trends covering at least the most recent four Calendar Quarters.

5.1.14. The Contractor shall provide a summary of its analysis from subtasks 5.1.2 through 5.1.4 in a draft Annual Benchmarking Report.

5.1.15. The draft Annual Benchmarking Report shall be clearly labeled, document assumptions and simplifications, and include a summary of the securities market and cash collateral market trends. The Contractor shall explain how these market changes impact PBGC’s securities lenders, cash investments, and overall risk and income from the PBGC’s lending program.

5.1.16. The contractor shall review the draft Annual Benchmarking Report with the agent lenders prior to delivery to PBGC.

5.1.17. The Government will have 10 business days to review the draft Annual Benchmarking Report and shall request a phone meeting during that time to discuss the draft Annual Benchmarking Report prior to requesting changes. The contractor shall discuss any element of the report in further detail during these phone discussions and be prepared to discuss the market trends portion in depth.

5.1.18. The Government will provide a written list of changes within 10 business days of receiving the draft Annual Benchmarking Report and the Contractor shall have 5 business days to make the changes and deliver the final Annual Benchmarking Report.

5.2. Task 2 (performance area 2) – Provide On-Call Securities Lending Advice.

5.2.1. The Government shall request securities lending related advisory support in writing via email and will mark them either routine or urgent.

5.2.2. The Contractor shall respond to written requests that are marked routine within 5 business days via email.

5.2.3. The Contractor shall respond to requests marked urgent within 1 day via email.

PAGE 6 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

5.2.4. The emailed response to a request for documentation review shall include a version of the document with track changes enabled.

5.2.5. The Contractor shall respond to all phone call inquiries within 5 days by returning the phone call or participating in a scheduled phone discussion. If the phone call exchange results in a request for a written response, the Government shall provide the Contractor a written request via email for advisory support marked either routine or urgent.

5.2.6. On-Call Advisory support requests will be focused on the PBGC Securities Lending program and how to improve it. Examples of potential support requests include: actions needed to facilitate agent lender use of Central Counterparty Clearing House, pros and cons to move to separate accounts for cash collateral, or use of new instruments in cash collateral funds.

5.2.7. Historically, PBGC has requested one routine review of a 10 page document in three of the last five years.

5.3. Task 3 (performance area 3) –Provide Securities Lending Briefings to PBGC Leadership.

5.3.1. The Contractor shall be available to brief PBGC upper management, Board of Directors or Advisory Council. Historically, the Government has not required such a briefing.

5.3.2. The Securities Lending Briefing to PBGC Leadership shall cover the PBGC securities program performance or another securities lending or cash management topic of interest to PBGC leadership. The Government will confirm the focus of the briefing.

5.3.3. The Contractor shall prepare a draft Securities Lending presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint and deliver the presentation document 10 days before the scheduled briefing. The briefing is unlikely to exceed one hour in length and the presentation document shall be no longer than 40 slides.

5.3.4. The Government will have 5 days to review the presentation and request changes.

5.3.5. The Contractor will have 5 days to complete changes and submit the final presentation.

5.3.6. The Contractor shall present the briefing in person at the PBGC location in Washington DC (deliverables and delivery schedule):

1200 K Street N.W., 12th floor boardroom

Washington DC 20005-4026

6. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:

6.1. The Contractor shall adhere to the following performance standards on all deliverables:

Accuracy - Deliverables shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, PAGE 7 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01 and adherence to generally accepted elements of style.

Clarity - Deliverables shall be clear and concise. All Charts and Tables shall be clearly labeled, easy to understand and relevant to the supporting narrative.

Consistency to Requirements - All work products and deliverables must satisfy the requirements of the PWS.

Fitness for Intended Purpose - Deliverables shall be fit for PBGC’s intended purpose under the PWS.

Editable - All text, chart, and table files shall be editable by PBGC.

Format - Deliverables shall be submitted in the media format defined in the

PWS.

Timeliness - Deliverables shall be submitted on or before the due date specified per the PWS.

6.2. Performance standards are contained in the Performance Requirement

Summary Table (PRS) in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) in Technical Exhibit 1. Absence of any contract requirement from the PRS does not detract from its enforceability nor limit the rights or remedies of the government under any other provision of the contract, including the clauses entitled “Inspection of Services” and “Default.”

7. INCENTIVES: The government will use incentives in the form of past performance evaluations for services meeting or exceeding or not meeting the performance standards as described in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) at Technical Exhibit 1.

8. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE:

8.1. Deliverables and Delivery Schedule

Perf Area

Deliverable Due Date Media(s) Qty Delivery Point(s)

5.1.6 Draft Quarterly

Benchmarking Report

15 days after data is available from Securities Lending Data Vendor

Electronic Submission

1 EA Email COR

5.1.10 Final Quarterly

Benchmarking Report

5 Days after Receiving Written Request for Changes

Electronic Submission

1EA Email COR

5.1.14 Draft Annual

Benchmarking Report

10 Business Days after completion of 4th Quarter Fiscal Year end Quarterly

Electronic

1EA Email COR

PAGE 8 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

Report

5.1.18 Final Annual

Benchmarking Report

5 Days after Receiving Written Request for Changes

Electronic Submission

1EA Email COR

5.2.1 On-call Advisory

Response Email

5 Business Days after receiving written request

Electronic Submission

1EA Email COR

5.3.3 Draft Securities

Lending Briefing to PBGC Leadership Presentation

10 business Days from Date of Assignment

Electronic Submission

1EA Email COR

5.3.5 Final Securities

Lending Briefing to PBGC Leadership Presentation

5 Days after receiving request for changes

Electronic Submission

1EA Email COR

5.3.6 Deliver Final

Securities Lending Briefing to PBGC Leadership in person date of PBGC Leadership meeting

In person 1EA 1200 K St NW, 12th Floor Boardroom

Washington D.C. 20005

8.1.1 Quarterly

Progress Report

25th Business Day following end of quarter

Electronic

1EA Email COR

8.1.1. Quarterly Progress Report: The Contractor shall provide a quarterly progress report on the 25th business day following conclusion of the Quarter covered in the progress report. The quarterly progress report shall include work accomplished last quarter, deliverables delivered including date delivered and deliverable status, work to be accomplished next quarter and any challenges encountered.

8.1.2. Contractor Quality Control Plan (QCP): The Contractor shall adhere to their Contractor Quality Control Plan as proposed.

9. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED EQUIPMENT AND INFORMATION (GFE/GFI):

None The Government shall ensure PBGC agent lenders State Street Global Markets and BlackRock make available to the Contractor via the Securities Lending Data Vendor that the Contractor uses, loan level data for each securities loan completed during the quarter being analyzed. The Government

PAGE 9 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

will ensure that the PBGC agent lenders provide cash collateral characteristics data to the Contractor.

10. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Performance of this contract shall be at the Contractor’s site except for participation in Senior Leadership Briefings (5.3.6).

11. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The period of performance shall be for one (1) base period of 12 months and four (4) twelve-month option periods.

12. QUALITY ASSURANCE: The Government will evaluate the Contractor’s Post- Award performance on this contract according to the Government’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) at Technical Exhibit 1.

13. SUPPORTING INFORMATION: The Contractor shall comply with the additional contract requirements and contract administrative information in Technical Exhibits and Attachments.

Technical Exhibits:

1. Government Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)

2. Additional Contract Information

PAGE 10 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

. 2 Technical Exhibit 1 - Government QASP

1. Title: Securities Lending Consulting Services, QASP.

2. Purpose: This QASP specifically corresponds to the PWS Section 5, Performance Requirement (Tasks). Section 5 of the PWS discusses what work is to be performed and to what outputs or outcomes the Government expects and to what specification.

The QASP provides a surveillance plan sufficient to ensure acceptable performance and compliance with the FAR.

3. Objective: The objective of this Surveillance Plan is to evaluate how the Contract is being performed by the Contractor.

4. Surveillance Method by Performance Area:

4.1. Surveillance described:

4.1.1. The COR shall perform 100% inspection on each written deliverable as described in the PWS, Section 5 and as summarized in the Performance Requirement Summary Table (PRS).

4.1.2. The COR will enter each inspection result on the Evaluation Table.

4.2. Reporting Results:

4.2.1. 30 business days after the end of each Fiscal Quarter the COR will prepare a written report for the Contracting Officer that summarizes the overall results of the quality assurance surveillance of the Contractor’s performance. The Evaluation Table will be included with this report and document the Contractor’s ongoing performance on contract.

4.2.2. A copy will be maintained in the COR file.

4.2.3. Unsatisfactory Performance:

Unsatisfactory contract performance, performance not meeting the Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) will be reported by the COR immediately to the ACO.

4.3. Incentives: The Government shall use positive Incentives on this contract in the form of positive past performance evaluations for meeting or exceeding the performance standards.

PAGE 11 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

Performance Requirements Summary Table (PRS)

PAGE 12 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

Perf.

Area

Output or Deliverable

Performance Standard

Acceptab le Quality Level

(AQL)*

Frequen cy

Incentive (Nonmonetary)

5.1.6 Draft Quarterly

Report

15 days after availability of data from Securities Lending Data Vendors

90% On Time

Quarterl y

Past Performance Evaluation

5.1.10 Final Quarterly

Benchmarking Report

5 Days after Receiving Written Request for Changes

100% On Time and Per PWS

Quarterl y

Past Performance Evaluation

5.1.14 Draft Annual

Benchmarking Report

10 Business Days after completion of 4th Quarter Fiscal Year end Quarterly Benchmarking Report

100% On Time and Per PWS

Annually Past Performance Evaluation

5.1.18 Final Annual

Benchmarking Report

5 Days after Receiving Written Request for Changes

100% On Time and Per PWS

Annually Past Performance Evaluation

5.2.1 On-call

Advisory Response email

1 Business day after receiving written request for urgent response and 5 Business Days after receiving written request for routine response

90% On Time and Per PWS

As Required

Past Performance Evaluation

5.3.3 Draft

Leadership Presentation

10 business Days from Date of Assignment

100% On time and Per PWS

As Required

Past Performance Evaluation

5.3.5 Final

Leadership Presentation

5 Days after receiving request for changes

100% On time and Per PWS

As Required

Past Performance Evaluation

5.3.6 Discuss Final

Leadership Presentation in Person

On day of meeting 100% On time and Per PWS

As Required

Past Performance Evaluation

8.1.1 Quarterly

Progress Report

5th business day following quarter end.

100% On time and Per PWS

As Required

Past Performance Evaluation

PAGE 13 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

*Surveillance Method Used 100% Inspection

Evaluation Table

Deliverable Date Delivered

Quality Assessment (Exceeds Standard, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory)

Comment

PAGE 14 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

PAGE 15 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

. 3 52.212-1 Addendum 1

1. CORRESPONDENCE AND DELIVERY OF PROPOSALS

1.1. Questions regarding the proposal shall be submitted by email no later than

January 18, 2016 at 11:00 am EST. No information concerning this solicitation will be provided in response to telephone calls.

1.2. All correspondence should be sent to Joy Bolluyt, Contract Specialist (CS), via email to: Bolluyt.joy@pbgc.gov. with cc: to Robert Hufford, Contracting Officer (CO), Hufford.robert@pbgc.gov.

1.3. Submit one (1) electronic copy of a technical proposal and one (1) electronic copy of a price proposal via email to the CO and CS by 12:00 (NOON) EST on February 15, 2016.

2. CONTRACT TYPE

The government anticipates awarding a Firm fixed Price Contract for Commercial Services.

3. FORMAT AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL

The proposal submitted in response to this solicitation shall be formatted as follows:

3.1. Volume I –Price Proposal:

3.1.1. Firm fixed unit prices for the base year and all option years shall be submitted as specified in the pricing schedule.

3.1.2. Offerors may indicate that their response to FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items has been completed electronically at System for Award Management (SAM) website http://sam.gov.

3.1.3. One (1) electronic (Microsoft Word or PDF) copy via email. Multiple files (including the optional cover letter and pricing schedule) shall be attached to an email with the subject line: “Offeror Name, PBGC01-RQ-16-0041, Price Proposal”. Separate documents attached to the email shall be titled using this format “Offeror Name, PBGC01-RQ-16-0041, Document Description”.

3.2. Volume II – Technical Proposal:

3.2.1. General Instructions for Submission and Format: One (1) electronic (Microsoft Word or PDF) copy. Multiple files shall be attached to an email with the subject line “Offeror Name, PBGC01-RQ-16-0041, Technical Proposal”. Separate documents attached to the email shall be titled using the format “Offeror Name, PBGC01-RQ-16-0041, Document Description”.

3.2.2. The Offeror shall use the specific format below:

• 8.5 by 11 inch paper

PAGE 16 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

• 12 pitch print or larger, Arial or Times New Roman style font

• 1.25 inch left hand margin, .75 inch right hand margin and 1 inch margins at both the top and bottom for each page.

• All pages single-spaced double-spaced between paragraphs

• Every page sequentially numbered, and

• Page numbers centered in the bottom margin.

• Entire proposal and any attachments shall be formatted to print clearly.

3.3. Technical Proposal Special Instructions:

Offerors shall provide the information requested in these special instructions in their technical proposal. The requests for information and questions listed below are to be restated in the proposal and specifically answered in the order provided. The special instructions are numbered and mapped to the evaluation criteria as found in Addendum 2.

1. Technical Approach

1.1. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Securities Lending Data Vendor’s database proposed to benchmark the PBGC’s lending programs and specifically answer the following questions:

1.1.1. Who is your securities lending data vendor?

1.1.2. How is data sourced (from the borrowers, lenders or both)?

1.1.3. How complete is the data for various sub-asset classes (US Equity, US Corporate Debt, US Government Debt, Non-US Equity, Non-US Corporate Debt and Non-US Government Debt)?

1.1.4. Is there an indication if a securities loan is collateralized by non-cash collateral or for cash collateral?

1.1.5. Is there an indication of the cash collateral return earned by the securities loan (for securities loans backed by cash collateral)?

1.1.6. How has the data source (for industry benchmarking) evolved over the past 3 years (trends of quality of securities loans covered)?

1.2. Describe process for benchmarking the performance of custodian agent lending/index fund lending programs and specifically answer the following questions:

PAGE 17 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

1.2.1. What data is needed from custodian/index fund manager?

1.2.2. What specific factors or sub-factors such as Utilization, Yield, Spread (from collateral and from intrinsic value), and Income are used for benchmarking?

1.2.3. Are adjustments made to data to allow for comparison of loans made for cash collateral invested in different yielding cash collateral reinvestment funds?

1.2.4. Explain how to compare securities loans made against cash and non-cash collateral?

1.2.5. Are adjustments made for loans made by PBGC’s agent lenders that don’t have matches in the securities lending universe?

1.2.6. Explain how to compare loans for clients with different indemnification levels?

1.2.7. Are filters placed on the universe of securities loans in order to make apples to apples comparisons of lenders? What filters are applied?

1.3. The contractor shall identify and discuss their assumptions and biases of their proposed benchmarking approach.

1.4. The contractor shall discuss if there are any differences for benchmarking an index fund lending program compared to a custody lending program.

1.5. The contractor shall describe how long it will take them to generate a benchmarking report.

1.6. The contractor shall include a sample of a benchmarking report.

1.7. The Offeror shall submit a Quality Control Plan (QCP) that describes the contractor’s control procedures to ensure all services and deliverables are provided as described in the PWS.

2. Qualification of Key Personnel

2.1. The Offeror shall propose key personnel identified in PBGC 52.237-7000, that meet the following minimum qualifications:

PAGE 18 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

2.1.1. Relevant experience in conducting securities lending benchmarking services.

2.1.2. Minimum of five (5) years-experience on similar projects and support roles.

2.2. The Offeror shall provide resumes on each of the key personnel proposed to work the requirements described in the PWS.

2.3. The Offeror shall describe each key person proposed to work the requirements described in the PWS to include: number of years with the firm, experience with securities lending consulting, securities lending benchmarking, years in the securities lending industry, educational credentials and how they meet or exceed the Key Personnel minimum qualifications.

2.4. The Offeror shall specifically identify the key person that will manage the PBGC relationship for this contract and who shall be their back-up.

3. Firm Experience

3.1. The Offeror shall demonstrate proven expertise with a history of providing securities lending consulting and benchmarking services similar to the size and scope as described in the PWS and answer the following questions:

3.1.1. What are the company’s business lines & revenue sources?

3.1.2. The Offeror shall identify how many personnel in the firm focus on security lending.

3.1.3. What is the contribution that securities lending consulting makes to firm revenues?

3.1.4. What securities lending offerings apart from consulting does your firm provide (publications, conferences)? Please provide examples of publications produced, and agenda’s for conferences that you have presented at or hosted.

3.1.5. How much time is spent on work with the borrower, lender, beneficial owner, regulatory and infrastructure sides of the securities lending industry?

3.2. The Offeror shall describe any possible conflicts of interest that may arise from working with borrower and lender sides of the securities lending marketplace and, if possible conflicts of interest exist, what controls are in place to mitigate possible conflicts of interest.

PAGE 19 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

3.3. The Offeror shall describe measures taken to secure data provided by PBGC’s agent lenders.

4. Past Performance

4.1. The Offeror shall provide evidence of recent and relevant past performance to the work required under this solicitation performed within the past three (3) years, as measured by the following factors:

4.1.1. Similarity of engagement, industry, size and scope.

4.1.2. Cost Control;

4.1.3. Timeliness of performance;

4.1.4. Business relations, to include problem responsiveness; and,

4.1.5. Customer satisfaction, particularly in regard to providing securities lending benchmarking services and securities lending program evaluation.

4.2. The Offeror must provide three references to include name of agency or firm for which work was performed, name of POC, email and phone number.

4.3. The Government may use other past performance information from official governmental or commercial sources to evaluate past performance.

PAGE 20 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

. 4 52.212-2 Addendum 2

1. EVALUATION CRITERIA

1.1. Non-Price Criteria

1.1.1. The Government intends to award to the responsible Offeror whose offer represents the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered according to FAR 12 and 13 for commercial services.

1.1.2. The Offeror’s proposal shall be evaluated in accordance with the following factors in order of importance, most important to least important: :

(1) Technical Approach

(2) Qualifications of Key Personnel

(3) Firm Experience

(4) Past Performance

1.2. Price

Price will be evaluated as an independent factor. The Offeror’s prices for the base year and four option years will be evaluated. The proposal will be evaluated for compliance with the RFP, as well as for price reasonableness.

2. Selection:

2.1. A tradeoff process among price and non-price factors shall be followed in order to ensure that the selected offers will provide the best value to the Government.

2.2. The non-priced evaluation factors, when combined, are more important than price.

2.3. Offerors are cautioned that the award may not necessarily be made to the lowest priced Offeror or to the highest technically-rated Offeror.

2.4. The Government reserves the right to reject any and all proposals received or request clarification or modification of proposals. The Government reserves the right to conduct discussions during the evaluation process, if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary.

2.5. Award of any contract will be made based upon a review and a comparative assessment of the offeror’s proposal against PBGC’s evaluation factors contained in this section.

3. RESPONSIVENESS OF PROPOSALS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD:

PAGE 21 OF 21 PBGC01-RQ-16-0041/01

3.1. A proposal must comply in all material respects with the RFP, proposal conditions that alter requirements or limit the Government’s rights shall not be considered.

3.2. Telegraphic proposals shall not be considered.

3.3. Facsimile proposals shall not be considered.

3.4. Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the instructions and all items required must be submitted with the proposal.

PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT

1225 I STREET NW

WASHINGTON DC 20005-4026