Custody Services

Auburn University's Office of Cash Management and Treasury is seeking proposals for comprehensive custody services for its fixed-income investment portfolio through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The procurement targets a qualified financial institution to provide security custody services for the university's general investment fund, which currently maintains 7 custody accounts with approximately $1.362 billion in Non-Endowed Investment assets. The services required include segregating securities, settling transactions, providing dedicated customer service, maintaining detailed records, offering online reporting, and implementing an overnight investment vehicle. Proposals were due on February 22, 2023, at 10:30 AM CST, to be submitted through the JAGGAER Sourcing Event Portal in Excel or Adobe PDF format. The evaluation criteria will be weighted as follows: Price Evaluation (Cost) at 50%, Technical Approach at 20%, Organizational Capacity at 15%, and Experience at 15%. The contract will be awarded for an initial one-year term with options to renew for four additional one-year terms, focusing on high-quality fixed-income assets with a minimum AAA credit rating and a maximum individual security maturity of 3.32 years weighted average life.

Auburn University is committed to supporting Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business (SB & SDB) suppliers, requiring contractors to report on SB & SDB participation throughout the contract duration. Vendors must submit a completed and notarized Vendor Disclosure Statement and, if applicable, an E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding. The procurement is subject to Alabama state bid laws and immigration regulations, with payment terms set at 0% 0, Net 30. While no specific incumbent vendors are mentioned, the university's investment policy emphasizes prudent investment practices, prioritizing safety of principal and liquidity over high returns. The annual operating budget is approximately $1.541 billion, with the investment portfolio structured across three pools: Primary Liquidity (5-20%), Intermediate (30-40%), and Short Term (30-40%), maintaining a weighted average maturity not exceeding three years. Authorized investment types include repurchase agreements, commercial paper, banker's acceptances, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury securities, federal agency securities, and municipal bonds.