Will State and Local Government Investment Pools Get Burned Again? Reports that
King County, Washington has taken steps to purchase
SIV-lite Mainsail II and
SIV Cheyne from the the
$4.1 billion King County Investment Pool have raised concerns that some
variable NAV state and local government investment pools and corporations, which, like "
enhanced cash" funds,
sometimes purchase securities that money market funds can't or won't, could be facing small losses. King County (
Seattle) says, "
Last week, the county took protective steps after learning of downgrades for Mainsail and Cheyne, two commercial paper investments in King County's investment pool portfolio [the ninth largest in the country], which had the potential to impact the pool's high rating. The two investments make up about 2.
5% of the investment pool'
s assets or $
103 million," says a release. Concerns have also recently been raised about
Orange County's Investment Pool, which went
bankrupt in 1994 following a sharp decline in interest-rate sensitive "derivative" securities.