Content DescriptionPage
Proposal Assertions
(a)Institutional and General Information
(b)Qualifications and Experience of the Firm
(c)Qualifications and Experience of Team
(d)OPEB Product Services
(e)Investment Services
(f)Fees
(g)References
(h)Financial Stability
(i)Certificate of Insurance
(j)DBE Participation
Exhibits
Page 1Proposal Assertions
Confidentiality StatementInformation contained in this document is proprietary and submitted with the understanding that it will not be used for purposes other than the evaluation of our qualifications without the prior written consent of Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services.
USA Patriot Act Statement
Wells Fargo complies with the USA Patriot Act and the regulations issued there under. Under this legislation, Wells Fargo is required to obtain and verify information to confirm the identity of any individual or business opening a Wells Fargo account including name, address, and documentation such as annual reports; government issued business licenses; or partnership agreements.
Tax or Legal Advice Statement
Wells Fargo does not offer tax or legal advice. Wells Fargo makes no representations or warranties regarding whether any particular plan or agreement will have the tax or legal effects desired by employers, employees, clients, account holders or other interested parties. Clients may seek their own tax and legal advice regarding the plan or agreement and its design and features. They may also consider submitting the plan or agreement to the IRS for a private letter ruling for determination of any tax consequences.
Information and Proposal Life Statement
Any information and pricing contained in this document is valid for six months from the date obtained, unless otherwise agreed to by Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services.
Business Acceptance Contingency
Final acceptance and ultimate approval to provide the services set forth in this document are contingent upon the receipt of all required governing documents and the satisfactory resolution of any document related, regulatory or legal issues.
Wells Fargo thanks you for this opportunity to provide your organization information regarding our services.
(a)Institutional and General Information
This proposal is presented by:Jason Folken
Wells Fargo - Institutional Trust Services
Ph
Fax
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(b)Qualifications and Experience of the Firm
(1)Describe your firm’s history and organizational structure. Include number of years in business, size of company (employees, yearly revenue).
(2)Which office(s) of your organization will have primary responsibility for this account?
(3)Indicate briefly how many years your firm as a whole and for the local office that will perform the work have been active in the investment advisory business dealing with pensions or funds similar to an OPEB fund and the scope of services offered.
(4)Describe your firm’s experience with servicing public agency clients, and in particular, for services similar to those described in this RFP.
(5)Describe the make up of your client base in terms of assets under management. Please segment as follows:
Assets - $5 million or less, $5 million to $25 million,
$25 million to $100 million, $100 million to $500million,
and $500 million or more.
Total Clients / As of 9/30/06# / $ (MM)
Under $5 Million
$5-$25 Million
$25-100 Million
$100-$500 Million
Over $500 Million
(6)List any pending administrative proceedings, investigations and civil suits against the firm relating to the firm’s performance of its professional duties
(7)List all litigation or proceedings to which your firm is a party and which would either (a) materially impair your ability to perform the services enumerated herein and for which this RFP was issued, or (b) if decided in an adverse manner, materially affect the financial condition of your firm.
(8)Comment on other areas, which make your firm different from your competitors.
(9)Describe any known or perceived actual or potential conflicts of interest with ______, its directors, officers, agents or employees. (Please refer to Section 22, Conflict of Interests of the Professional Services Agreement in Exhibit 1).
Page 1(c)Qualifications and Experience of Team
and Relationship Services
(1)Describe your firm’s philosophy regarding account or relationship management.
(2)Identify and provide the resume of the person (Account Executive) who will be assigned to coordinate your company’s services to ______. ______---expects direct access to the Account Executive on all matters.
(3)Identify the members of the plan service team including their tenure with your firm, background, education and location and the role they will play in managing ______account. Identify other offices and/or corporate resources, which you intend to use in servicing this project.
(4)Describe the entity or division proposed to serve as the trustee/custodian of the trust.
(5)Describe the entity or division proposed to serve as the investment manager of the trust. Include performance history.
(6)Will you utilize any subcontractors for the servicing of this plan? If yes, describe your relationship with the subcontractor, the subcontractor’s history and experience in providing similar fund services and the experience of the subcontractor’s employees that will provide services to the plan.
(d)OPEB Product Services
(1)Describe, in general terms, your firm’s OPEB Services. Confirm that youwill acknowledge your role as a fiduciary with respect to the OPEB trust.
(2)Provide a list or description of qualified options which your firm cansupport to hold OPEB GASB 45 assets. Briefly discuss pros and cons ofeach option and provide a recommendation which will be best suited for______. Include in your proposal a sample Trust Agreement, IRSDetermination Letter (if available), and any other document(s) thatyou propose to use.
At the current time ______is interested in an employer contributionplan. However, ______wishes flexibility in the trust to allowemployee contributions (defined contributions) if______-- elects to doso anytime in the future. ______also requires that the irrevocableOPEB trust must be easily transferable. Please describe how you willsatisfy these requirements.
(3)Provide how often reporting will be provided, a description of the reportsand a description of any available online access.
(4)Does your firm provide any other compliance, filing or consultingservices? If so, please describe.
(5)Describe how trust transactions such as disbursements are proposed to behandled.
(e)Investment Services
(1)Describe your philosophy regarding managing an OPEB trust.
(2)Describe your process for implementing a new OPEB trust.
(3)Do you provide specific asset allocation recommendations? If so, pleaseexplain.
(4)Do you provide discretionary management of the assets? If yes, what isyour process for hiring and assessing performance of investmentmanagers?
(5)How often will you rebalance the trust assets?
(6)What investment options are available? For publicly traded investmentsplease provide the full fund name, its ticker or CUSIP, and its share class.For non-publicly traded option please provide complete quarterly performance data, risk characteristics, top 10 holdings, annualreport/prospectus, restrictions, and expense ratio.
Page 1(f)Fees
(1)Complete Proposal Form (Exhibit 2) to perform all services described inthe Scope of Services (Section A. 4.) above.
a.Fees for Step I must be all-inclusive. No additional reimbursementwill beprovided for travel time, expenses, telephone costs, copyingcosts, etc.
bFor Step II, please provide tier pricing based on total dollar value oftrustassets managed. If your firm’s pricing structure is not based on an annual percentage of total dollars of assets managed, pleasedescribe your alternative pricing structure. Fee structure for Step IImust be all-inclusive to incorporate total cost of investing in theprogram or funds such as asset manager(s)’ fees, expense ratios,trading fees, sub-account expense, separate account or other assetbasedadministrative expenses that are added to the base or subadvisorinvestment management fees. You must disclose all forms ofcompensation that you will receive from any source relating to themanagement of ______- OPEB assets.
Although ______has not determined the amount the fund will befunded, for the purpose of proposal comparisons, ______- willassume the following annual average asset values:
Average Asset ValueYear 1 / $5,000,000
Year 2 / $6,500,000
Year 3 / $8,000,000
Year 4 (Option) / $9,500,000
Year 5 (Option) / $11,500,000
(2)Is there a minimum fee requirement for this plan and, if so what is thebasis for the minimum fee?
(3)Describe in detail any revenue sharing agreements you have withinvestment managers and/or sub-advisors. Include any 12b-1, service,distributor, or platform fees you derive from the investment managersand/or sub-advisors.
(4)Describe any surrender, withdrawal or deferred sales charges within yourproducts. Are any additional fees to be netted from fund performance? Ifyes, please describe.
(5)Is there a termination fee or any other fees relating to transfer of ______OPEB assets? Upon notice of termination within 20 days,______- requires that the Consultant will transfer all of ______OPEBassets in the manner designated by ______with no hold back.
Page 1(g)References
Please list the name, address, and telephone number of references from three recent similar projects. Please provide a brief description of the work providedfor each reference.
Page 1(h)Financial Stability
Project your latest financial statement and describe in detail the financial backingand stability of your company. Describe any major claims, settlements or otherexposures pending against your company.
Page 1(i)Certificate of Insurance
Proposers are requested to provide a completed sample Certificate of Insurance(Exhibit 3) evidencing the coverage types and the minimum limits required asdescribed in Section 12 of the Professional Services Agreement (Exhibit 1) withtheir proposal.______--requires this information to facilitate completingcontract formalities in a timely manner if an award is made. ______mayrequest additional information or clarification if necessary.
Page 1(j)DBE Participation
Consultants are strongly encouraged to obtain Disadvantaged Business Enterprise(DBE) participation on this project, although there is no contract-specific DBEgoal. Please indicate whether your firm is a certified DBE and include a copy ofthe firm’s DBE certification with the proposal. If any subconsultants will beused, please identify which of the subconsultants are DBEs and provide copies oftheir DBE certifications.
For DBE questions or assistance, contact the DBE Program Office, at (415) 257-4538.
Page 1Exhibits
The following Exhibits are located on the CD submitted with this proposal:
Exhibit AExhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E
Exhibit F
Exhibit G
Exhibit H
Exhibit I
Exhibit J
Exhibit K
Exhibit L
Exhibit M
Exhibit N
Exhibit O
Exhibit P
Exhibit Q
Exhibit R
Exhibit S
Exhibit T
Exhibit U
Exhibit V
Exhibit Q
Exhibit R
Exhibit S
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