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About FL SAFE

About FL SAFE

Florida Surplus Asset Fund Trust (FL SAFE), was formed in December 2007 and is a local government investment pool developed by Florida local governments for Florida local governments. FL SAFE has no association with the State of Florida. FL SAFE’s sole purpose is to serve government entities in Florida to meet their daily cash management needs with an emphasis on safety, liquidity, transparency and competitive yields.

We encourage you to consider the benefits of a FL SAFE account. Here are some of the valued services we offer:

  • Website Access:  FL SAFE has developed a comprehensive web site to meet the growing needs of Florida governments. Participants can securely enter transaction requests, as well as access account balances, statements and transaction history. The FL SAFE website is secured using SHA-256 with RSA encryption. SSL certificate issued by Starfield Technologies, Inc.
  • Multiple Accounts:  To help with the funding of government projects and services, we have the ability to set up multiple accounts for a single entity (construction projects, reserve funds, or other special projects). Please let us know how we can make your job easier.
  • Tax Revenue:  Distributions earn interest immediately on your revenue distributions by setting up a FL SAFE account to automatically receive monthly revenue distributions from the state or your county for FEFP payments, local option sales tax revenue or property tax receipts.
  • Free Third-Party Wire/ACH Services:  We also offer free third-party wire or ACH services for recurring monthly obligations such as health insurance premiums or employee retirement fund payments.
SPECIALIZED RESEARCH

We regularly post the latest in economic and financial research reports and provide links to topics of interest to FL SAFE Participants.

Board of Trustees

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees consists of government representatives charged with general oversight of FL SAFE as detailed in the Indenture of Trust. The Board members will serve three year staggered terms and will not receive any monetary compensation for their service. The Board of Trustees include:

Linda Senne, CPA, CGFM, CGMA
Madame Chair
Finance Director
City of Venice
FGFOA – Southwest Chapter
Term Ending: January 1, 2027
View Biography

Jerry Boop, CPA, CGFO
Vice Chair
Finance Director
City of Oviedo
FGFOA – Central Florida Chapter
Term Ending: January 1, 2025
View Biography

William Spivey
Secretary
Board Member
Seminole County Port Authority
FGFOA – Central Florida Chapter
Term Ending: January 1, 2026
View Biography

Christine Cajuste, CPA, MBA
Board Member
Finance Director
City of Tamarac, Florida
FGFOA – South Florida Chapter
Term Ending: January 1, 2027
View Biography

Heather Abrams
Treasurer
Debt & Treasury Manager
City of Cape Coral, Florida
Term Ending: January 1, 2027
View Biography

Advisory Council

Advisory Council

The Advisory Council members are recommended by the FL SAFE Administrator and Investment Advisor, and the Advisory Council is confirmed by the Board. They serve at will, and as a Participant, provide additional insight and advice of FL SAFE Investment programs and services.

Dan Carpenter
Finance Director
City of Indian Rocks Beach

Jordan Steffens
Senior Finance Director
Okaloosa County Clerk & Comptroller

Jerry Gray, CPA
Finance Director
City of Maitland

Chris Reeder
Finance Director
City of Auburndale

Alexis Koter
Finance Director
City of Inverness

Organizational Chart

Organizational Chart

PARTICIPANTS

FL SAFE was developed by Florida governmental entities for the benefit of participating government entities. As an authorized investment under Florida Statutes 163.01 and 218.415, FL SAFE is open to any government entity including cities, counties, towns, school districts, public utilities, special districts, port and waterway authorities, transit districts, colleges and universities, local government property and casualty and health insurance pools. All of the services developed for FL SAFE will be focused on safety, liquidity, transparency and competitive yields to benefit and protect Participant interests.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees is primarily comprised of government officials that have investment responsibility for their government entity.

INVESTMENT ADVISOR & OPERATIONAL MANAGER

Chandler Asset Management, Inc. (Chandler) serves as FL SAFE’s Investment Advisor and Operational Manager.

Chandler’s singular focus since 1988 has been to provide investment strategies to public agencies, institutions, and other risk-conscious clients through the management of high-quality fixed income portfolios. Our clients benefit from our disciplined, repeatable process and exceptional standard of care. To learn more about Chandler, visit chandlerasset.com

Florida Management and Administrative Services, LLC (FMAS) is a full-service management and administrative services firm based in Orlando. Its President, Jeff Larson, was involved in the establishment of FL SAFE in 2007-2008, and was retained in May 2011 by the FL SAFE Board to serve as Administrator.

CUSTODIAN AND BANK

The Custodian is BMO Harris Bank N.A., a diversified financial institution (www.harrisbank.com).

AUDITOR

The Auditor is CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (www.cliftonlarsonallen.com/).

LEGAL COUNSEL

The Legal Counsel is Akerman LLP, a law firm with six offices in Florida. They have specific expertise in a number of areas including public finance and investments (www.akerman.com).

Management

Management

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Florida Management and Administrative Services, LLC provides administrative service to FL SAFE Participants. These duties include:

  • Arranging and managing the annual audit of FL SAFE
  • Organizing quarterly board meetings per Florida Statutes
  • Securing surety and other bonds, and insurance necessary to protect FL SAFE
  • Developing and implementing FL SAFE sales and marketing plan
  • Providing Participant and potential Participant seminars
  • Maintaining Board elections per indenture
  • Assist with FIIP and Term Series administrative and oversight
INVESTMENT ADVISORY & OPERATIONAL SERVICES

Chandler Asset Management, Inc. serves as the Investment Advisor and Operational Manager to FL SAFE. Duties include:

Investment Advisor – Portfolio Management Duties – Chandler Asset Management, LLC.

  • Portfolio allocation and criteria development
  • Daily cash flow management
  • Security transaction selection/execution
  • Monitoring fixed income markets
  • Preparing and monitoring approved list of securities
  • Monitoring and recommending updates to FL SAFE’s Investment Policy
  • Quarterly evaluation of the investment performance of FL SAFE to Board
  • Maintaining and developing policies and procedures for Investment Advisor functions
  • Supporting Trust Sales & Marketing Plan in cooperation with Administrator
  • Managing annual rating agency review and providing rating agency required reports
  • Assisting with Participant and prospect investment and educational seminars
  • Providing monthly economic update to Administrator for Trust newsletter and website
  • Maintaining accurate records concerning its services hereunder as required under the securities laws
  • Other duties as directed by Board and standard for Industry as Investment Advisor

Operational Manager – Accounting and Operations Duties – Chandler Asset Management, Inc. 

  • Managing Chandler operations staff working on FL SAFE matters
  • Maintaining and updating fund accounting system
  • Maintaining accounting software
  • Reviewing and approving daily fund accounting report
  • Preparing unaudited quarterly account statements for FL SAFE Board’s review and approval
  • Determining and allocating income of FL SAFE, including the monthly budgeted expenses of the Trust
  • Managing FL SAFE’s expenses and budgeting in cooperation with Board and Administrator
  • Maintaining separate accounts for each Participant
  • Maintaining Participant recordkeeping
  • Recording individual transactions and totals of all investments
  • Serving as registrar for FL SAFE
  • Arranging for the redemption of shares by Participants
  • Assisting in preparation of audit as needed, supplying information and addressing auditor’s questions
  • Opening and closing Participant accounts in cooperation with Administrator
  • Participant transaction processing
  • Posting monthly statements for Participants
  • Providing written confirmation of investment and withdrawal of funds to Participants
  • Supporting with Participant Q&A and customer service in cooperation with Administrator
  • Other duties as directed by Board and standard for industry as Operational Manager
  • Website management duties: Marketing and transactional websites (FMAS will have direct access) and FundLink website for Board communications (FMAS and Board Trustees will have direct access)
  • Daily participant calculation balance
  • Daily information updates
  • Business continuity, including website back-up and disaster recovery plan
  • Managing the website
  • Other duties as directed by Board and standard for industry for LGIP website manager

Custodian

Custodian

BMO Harris Bank N.A.
Hank Gay
Vice President
111 W. Monroe St.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-461-2439
As of 10/19/2012

Auditor

Auditor

The auditor for FL SAFE is Clifton Larson Allen LLP. (CLA) the successor firm from the merger of Clifton Gunderson and Larson Allen,(http://claconnect.com), one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting and consulting firms, provides a wide range of assurance, accounting, tax, and consulting services to clients in a variety of industries. Clifton Larson Allen has a staff of approximately 4,000 professionals serving more than 150,000 clients from 90 offices across the country.¹

Clifton Larson Allen LLP
Chris Knopik
Principal
220 South Sixth Street, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-397-3266

As of 10/5/2015