There are well-established advantages in using external fund managers to manage a proportion of a Council's surplus funds, especially the access to a more diverse pool of highly credit rated banks. We will assist the Council throughout the fund manager selection process, from drafting a questionnaire through to the shortlisting, interviewing and final selection.

Following placement of funds with a fund manager, it is vital that the Council monitors the performance. We comment on monthly returns on an informal basis, but we comment in detail on quarterly reports.

Each quarter the manager(s) is required to provide a written report on the performance of the portfolio, detailing performance against the agreed benchmark, a track record of investments made, the reasoning for the strategy, and a forecast for future interest rates and investment strategy. We comment in detail on these quarterly reports, and also provide comparisons to the performance of other managers, the market, and our own forecast of interest rates and market trends.

We also assess the risk/reward ratio achieved by the manager, to ensure that above average returns are not being obtained by taking above average risks.