County Commission Reviews Investment Portfolio

In between holiday parties and gift shopping, it is the time of year when people review their investment portfolios to consider changes for the months ahead. But it’s not just individual investors that take a look at their financial foundations, local governments are also taking the time to check on investments.

Earlier this month, the Flagler County Commission received an update on the county’s investment portfolio from Leslie Weaber with PFM Asset Management and the news was pretty good.

Weaber kicked off her presentation with a quick review of the state of the economy, saying it has “continued to be strong and resilient” and represents “a good health gauge of the U.S>”

She said recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve Board have been good for the county’s portfolio.

“When rates drop, market values rise so that really helped performance,” she said.

Weaber said her company manages about $58.5 million in assets invested in a diversified portfolio that aligns with the county’s investment policy. The investments are divided between a short-term portfolio with about $32 million and a core portfolio with just under $27 million.

The county’s short-term portfolio earned $583,000 in the quarter and around $2.7 million for the year, Weaber said.

“That’s good performance for the quarter, even at one year,” Weaber said.

 The core portfolio gained $271,000 over the past three months and $835,000 for the year.

“I’m glad you guys are doing this for us,” said County Commission Chair Andy Dance. “It’s appreciated and it’s very complex to keep track of all the markets.”