PTIF Instructions and Information

PTIF OBJECTIVES

The Utah Public Treasurers Investment Fund (PTIF) invests to maintain safety of principal, liquidity, and lastly a competitive return on  investment.

WHO CAN INVEST

Any funds administered by a State of Utah public treasurer may be invested in the PTIF. This includes funds held by Utah local governments, city and county treasurers, state boards, commissions, institutions, departments, divisions, agencies, school districts, and other public bodies.

WHY INVEST IN THE PTIF?

Investing in the PTIF is a convenient and effective way to invest excess and idle liquidity. The PTIF can readily accommodate large investments while providing local government or agency officials with a high degree of liquidity.

Investment professionals in the Office of State Treasurer have extensive, regular interactions with local and national securities dealers, analysts, and fund managers. By investing in the PTIF, public entities can leverage the expertise of the Office of State Treasurer, while minimizing the expense of investment management to local taxpayers.

STABILITY

Every dollar invested today is managed to be worth a dollar tomorrow plus income earned at competitive rates.

COMPETITIVE RATES

The pooling of investments from numerous public entities within Utah enables the state treasurer to purchase securities in large block sizes. Large block-sized transactions minimize investment service charges and spreads often assessed by brokers on smaller-lot purchases, providing PTIF investments with a lower-cost, higher-yielding structure than is available to smaller portfolios. Reduced cost and effective selection of securities results in a safe and competitive yield on investment. PTIF yield fluctuates with prevailing market interest rates.

LIQUIDITY

The high degree of liquidity offered by the PTIF mitigates the need for participants to predict precisely how long funds are required to be invested. The prevailing yield is paid on all investments regardless of how long the funds are invested. The PTIF is not intended to be a substitute for a treasurer’s operating accounts.  The PTIF provides daily liquidity; however, it is intended for funds that are invested for several days or longer.

SECURITY

All investments in the PTIF must comply with the Money Management Act and Rules of the Money Management Council. Refer to the Money Management Act, Section 51-7-11, for details.

The PTIF invests primarily in money market securities, including time certificates of deposit, domestic commercial paper,  and short term corporate notes. These securities are issued by highly rated corporations or government agencies and provide limited risk to pool participants.

The maximum final maturity of any security purchased by the PTIF is five years. The maximum adjusted weighted average maturity of the portfolio does not exceed 90 days.

By statute, investment transactions are conducted only through certified dealers, qualified depositories, or directly with issuers of the securities.

All purchased securities are delivered to the custodian of the Office of State Treasurer, assuring a perfected interest in the securities. For safety and convenience, the Office of State Treasurer uses a custodial bank to take delivery of securities. The State of Utah has no claim on assets owned by the PTIF, other than those investments  contributed to the PTIF by the state. Deposits are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC, the State of Utah, or any other instrumentality of the United States.

DIVERSIFICATION

By combining the funds of many participants, the PTIF can provide a diversified portfolio of securities and avoid excessive concentration in any one issuer. In accordance with the Rules of the Money Management Council, no more than 5% of the PTIF may be invested in the securities of any single issuer.

NO MINIMUM BALANCE REQUIREMENT

The PTIF has no minimum balance requirement and no limit on the number of pool account transactions.

 

ONLINE TRANSACTIONS USING iPAS

iPAS is an online tool that provides PTIF participants with the ability to securely initiate ACH deposits and withdrawals online. It also allows PTIF participants access to account balances, transaction details and account statements.

Once your PTIF account is established, you can gain iPAS access by calling the Office of State Treasurer or emailing your request to [email protected].

TRANSACTIONS REQUESTED BY PHONE

We encourage all participants to use iPAS for PTIF transactions.  However, PTIF participants can also request transactions (including deposits, withdrawals or interfund transfers) by calling the Office of State Treasurer at (801) 538-1470 or (800) 395-7665 (toll free).

When requesting deposits or withdrawals by phone, please provide the following details:

  • Date funds are to be transferred1
  • Amount to be transferred
  • Pool account name and number
  • Name of bank and account number to which the transfer will settle

When requesting interfund transfers by phone, please provide the following details:

  • Date funds are to be transferred2
  • “From” Pool account name and number
  • “To” Pool account name and number
  • Amount to be transferred

1 Transfer requests made by 1:29 p.m. will settle via ACH on the following business day or any future date as specified.

2 Interfund transfers can be processed on any date of the current month.

 

POOL DEPOSITS INITIATED BY WIRE TRANSFER OR ACH CREDIT

The Office of State Treasurer processes wire transfer deposits on a limited basis due to the relatively high transaction costs associated with wires. If Pool deposits are initiated by wire transfer or ACH credit, same-day phone or email notification must be provided to the Treasurer’s Office before noon to ensure that the deposit is credited to the Pool account on the date the deposit is transmitted.

POOL DEPOSITS MADE BY CHECK

For deposits by check or warrant, mail or hand-deliver your deposit to:

Utah State Treasurer
350 N. State Street, Suite 180
P.O. Box 142315
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-2315

Funds deposited to Pool accounts by check or warrant begin earning interest on the day they are collected:

Type of Check or Warrant Funds are Collected
In-state Day after receipt
Out-of-state Two days after receipt

INTER-FUND TRANSFERS

The Office  of State Treasurer can make transfers from one entity’s Pool account to another entity’s Pool account to distribute tax revenues and other amounts. (For example, property taxes collected by a county can be conveniently and efficiently distributed to a city or to a school district using this method.) Such transfers can be initiated using the following methods:

  • Initiate online using iPAS
  • Request in writing by FAX to (801) 538-1465
  • Request via email to [email protected]. (Multiple transfers can be effected through use of electronic file. Contact PTIF support for detailed instructions).
  • Request by phone by calling (801) 538-1470

When requesting interfund transfers, remember to provide the date funds are to be transferred, the “from” Pool account name and number, the “to” Pool account name and number, and the amount to be transferred.

POOL OPERATING GUIDELINES

  • Pool participants must provide the Treasurer’s Office with at least 48 hours’ advance notice when withdrawing more than $20,000,000.
  • Deposit and withdrawal transactions must be requested prior to noon for next business day settlement.
  • Inter-fund transactions3 can be processed on any date of the current month.
  • All funds withdrawn are delivered directly to the Pool participant’s designated bank account.  Treasurer’s Office internal control policies prohibit payments to third parties.

3 “Inter-fund transactions” refers to transfers from one PTIF account to another.

 

INTEREST EARNED

Interest earnings are calculated on an accrual basis and credited to each account on the last day of the month. The monthly yield is quoted as a simple average using the actual number of days in the month and a 360 day year. As an example, an account having an average daily balance of $100,000 during the month earns $333.33 at a 4% yield, calculated as follows:

$100,000 x 4.00% x 30 days/360 days

Most money market investment vehicles quote yields based on a 365 day year and may quote a compounded “return”. Using the example above, an investment that paid $333.33 would yield 4.0555% based on a 365 day year.

The monthly apportionment of interest includes accrued interest, amortization of premium or discount, realized gains and losses, any addition or reduction from/to interest reserves, and is net of all administrative and safekeeping charges (see “ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES”).

The PTIF may maintain an interest reserve to stabilize the monthly apportionment of interest. Any balance maintained in the interest reserve is reflected in the GASB 31 fair market value factor4.

    Funds transferred to the Pool begin earning interest on the day they are collected:
Mode of Transfer Funds are Collected
ACH or wire Day of transfer
In-state check Day after receipt
Out-of-state check Two days after receipt

Funds continue to earn interest until withdrawn by the participant.


4 GASB Statement 31 requires fair value reporting of all investments. The fair value of your investment in the PTIF can be calculated by multiplying the pool’s fair value per share factor times your pool balance, as shown on your statement.

 

MONTHLY INVESTMENT STATEMENT

Statements of account are available online via iPAS  and detail the following information:

  1. Beginning and ending balances
  2. Deposits and withdrawals
  3. Interest earned and credited
  4. Weighted average balance
  5. Average yield for the month

Statements are available online via iPAS by the third business day of each month. The monthly statement should be retained as a permanent record.

ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES

A minimal administrative fee is charged to help cover operating expenses and related costs for Pool operations. This fee is deducted from gross earnings and is not reflected on the monthly statement. The fee is subject to adjustment from time to time based on costs incurred. The Treasurer’s Office has established a maximum fee of 10 basis points (one-tenth of one percent (.001)) per annum, applied to the average account balance on a monthly basis. Historically, the total charge has averaged about 1 basis point (.0001) per annum. No other costs or fees are assessed by the Treasurer’s Office.