Investment Consulting Services RFP

The Michigan Department of Technology Management and Budget, procuring on behalf of the Michigan Department of Treasury, Bureau of Investments, is requesting proposals for investment consulting services to support the Michigan Retirement System and related state funds under RFP 260000002293, with proposals due August 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM.

The scope encompasses comprehensive investment consulting services for the Michigan Retirement System (approximately $122.4 billion in assets, approximately 614,330 participants), Defined Benefit Retirement Plans, Defined Contribution Retirement Plans, Michigan Education Savings 529 Plans, and other major funds including the Common Cash Fund, Michigan Education Trust, Lottery, Mackinac Bridge Authority, Natural Resources Trust Fund, and Veterans Trust Fund. Key deliverables include semiannual written performance analyses of portfolio managers, quarterly performance evaluation reports, monthly performance reports, quarterly investment outlook publications, annual reports on capital market assumptions, and annual cash flow projections for private market asset classes. The contractor must attend up to four annual State Managed Investment Board meetings, participate in monthly scheduled meetings (majority virtual) with the State Program Manager, maintain 24-hour response times to inquiries, and provide detailed project plans and organizational charts within five calendar days of award. Key personnel assigned to the State account cannot be removed without prior written State consent; unauthorized removal incurs penalties of $25,000 to $50,000 per individual.

Technical evaluation is weighted as follows: Statement of Work General Requirements (30 points), Sections 4–23 of the Statement of Work excluding Section 12 (15 points), Prior Experience from the Vendor Questions Worksheet (40 points), and Key Personnel in Section 12 (15 points). Proposals scoring 80 or more points will advance to price evaluation. The contract will be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder offering best value, subject to State Administrative Board approval for contracts valued at $250,000 or more. Contract pricing is fixed for the entire term with adjustments for documented changes in actual contractor costs; overtime, holiday pay, and travel expenses are not reimbursable. Payment is quarterly via electronic funds transfer.

Data security requirements include FedRAMP authorization or annual SSAE 18 SOC 2 Type II audits based on NIST SP 800-53 MOD controls; FIPS-validated AES encryption with 128-bit or higher keys; NIST-compliant multi-factor authentication for privileged access; quarterly application scanning (DAST, SAST, SCA); and monthly infrastructure scanning. All software and state data must be hosted in continental United States data centers meeting Uptime Institute Tier 3 standards minimum. The contractor must integrate with Michigan's MiLogin Identity and Access Management platform supporting SAML 2.0 and OpenID Connect protocols.

Contractors must maintain Commercial General Liability of $1 million per occurrence with $2 million aggregate, Automobile Liability of $1 million per accident, and Workers Compensation and Employers Liability of $500,000 per accident and disease, with carriers rated A.M. Best A- VII or higher. The Service Level Agreement imposes 100% compliance for meeting attendance and report delivery, with 1% monthly invoice credits for failures; credits may be waived for extenuating circumstances communicated and approved in advance.

Questions were due July 24, 2026, with answers posted by July 31. The solicitation manager is Adam Ashley at (517) 855-1376 or ashleya2@michigan.gov. All proposals must be submitted electronically through www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS in native modifiable formats (Microsoft Word or Excel), with individual files not exceeding 30 MB. A Confidential Treatment Form must accompany all proposals; failure to submit renders the proposal non-responsive.