DFA
Investment
Policy
The Deerfield School Board authorizes the School District
Treasurer Cindy Tomilson working in conjunction with the chairman of Deerfield
school board and his/her designee and pursuant to RSA 197;23-a to invest the
funds of the district subject to the following objectives and standards or
care.
OBJECTIVES
The three objectives, in priority order, of investment
activities shall be safety, liquidity, and yield.
1. Safety of principal is the
foremost objective in this policy.
Investments shall be undertaken in a manner that seeks to ensure the
preservation of capital by mitigating credit and interest rate risk. This will be accomplished by limiting the
type of the investments and institutions to those stipulated by statute and
fully covered by FDIC insurance or collateral approved pursuant to RSA 366:57.
2. Liquidity of the investment
portfolio shall remain sufficient to meet all operating requirements that may
be reasonably anticipated.
3. Yield: The investment portfolio shall be designed
with the objective of attaining a market rate of return throughout budgetary
and economic cycles, taking into account the investment risk constraints and
liquidity needs. Return on investment is
of secondary importance compared to the safety and liquidity objectives
described above.
STANDARDS OF CARE
1. Prudence: The standard of prudence to be used by the
Deerfield School District Treasurer and Chairman of Board or his/her designee
involved in the investment process shall be the “prudent person” standard and
shall be applied in the context of managing an overall portfolio. They are directed to use the Government
Finance Officers Association Recommended Practices and Policy Statements Related
to Cash Management as a guide to the prudent investment of public funds. The Government Finance Officers Association
Practices and Policy statement related to cash management and is attached as
Appendix A.
2. Ethics and conflicts of
interest: The School District Treasurer
and Chairman of School Board or his/her designee involved in the investment
process shall refrain from personal business activity that could conflict with
the proper execution and management of the investment program or that could
impair their ability to make impartial decisions. Employees and Investment officials shall
disclose any material interests in financial institutions with which they
conduct business. They shall further
disclose any personal financial institutions with which they
conduct business. They shall further
disclose any personal
financial/investment positions
that could be related to the
APPROVED: January,
1999
REVIEWED: January, 2000; February,
2001; February, 2002; January, 2003; January, 2004
performance of the investment
portfolio. Employees and officials shall
subordinate their personal investment transactions to those of the
3. Internal Controls: The Deerfield School District Treasurer in
connection with the Superintendent and business managers of School
Administrative Unit #53 shall design and implement a system of internal
controls which shall be documented in writing.
The internal controls shall be reviewed and approved by the School
Board.
This investment policy shall
be reviewed annually by the school board.