Metropolitan King County Council
516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-296-1000
Toll Free: 800-325-6165
TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024
Fax: 206-296-0198

council@kingcounty.gov
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King County Investment Pool Advisory Panel

Three local financial experts have been appointed by the King County Council to an advisory panel that is conducting a comprehensive review of the $4.8 billion King County Investment Pool.

The King County Investment Pool invests the cash reserves for all King County agencies and nearly 100 other public entities in the county, including school, fire, sewer and water districts. It is one of the largest investment pools in the State of Washington.

  • The panel is reviewing the Investment Pool for best practices in five areas:
  • The investment goals of the Pool, including risk tolerance, liquidity targets, and rates of return.
  • The membership goals of the Pool, including the size of membership, the value of maintaining a high credit rating with a national rating agency, and the roles and responsibility of members in sharing risks and returns.
  • The investment policies of the Pool, including maturity, duration, liquidity, and diversification policies, as well as the types, creditworthiness, and limits on the securities held by the pool.
  • The portfolio of the Pool, including how well investment goals are maximized and policies are followed.
  • The management structure of the Pool, including how day-to-day operational and investment decisions are made and the role of the Executive Finance Committee. The pool’s structure shall be reviewed for its inclusion of financial expertise and the availability of objective advice when establishing investment policies and practices.

The panel will also review the county’s written investment manual, and examine whether financial experts should be available to help guide the policy and operational decisions of the Pool.

The three experts appointed by the Council on Nov. 13 are:

  • John Rose is the former CEO of Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation, the region’s largest underwriter of bonds. He was recently elected chair of the board of trustees for the Nature Conservancy’s Washington state chapter. He served as King County Budget Director for County Executive John Spellman.
  • John Dobrowolski was a Senior Vice President and Division Executive Portfolio Management for Washington Mutual. He has also worked as a portfolio manager for GE Financial and a Financial Risk Management Specialist for International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. 
  • Mary Ellen Mullen is the Principal & Senior Consultant for Bellevue-based Bridgebay Consulting, which conducts institutional investment consulting and research. Mullen has previously worked for Wells Fargo, Seattle-First National Bank, and Bank of America, where she was a co-founder of the investment management subsidiary, Seattle Capital Management.
The Council created the Advisory Panel to help ensure the continued prudent investing of public funds in the wake of unprecedented volatility in the commercial paper market, especially for asset-backed commercial paper, since August 2007.

An Executive Finance Committee establishes County investment policies and oversees the investment portfolio to ensure that specific investments comply with both those investment policies and Washington State law. The pool is only allowed to invest in certain types of low risk, highly-rated securities including certificates of deposit, US treasury obligations, federal agency obligations, municipal obligations, repurchase agreements and commercial paper.

Appointment of the Investment Pool Advisory Panel fulfilled expectations expressed at the Council’s Citizen Engagement forums in 2007, where citizens voiced desires for greater fiscal accountability when taxpayer dollars are involved.

Related Information

 Meeting minutes

King County Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Analysis (279K .PDF)

King County Commercial Paper Analysis (67K .PDF) 

News
"Keeping King County's investment pool afloat" --Seattle PI OpEd

"King County could lose millions from investments"--Seattle PI

King County’s investment pool’s rating temporarily suspended by S&P: Rating action does not affect county’s bond rating

Three financial experts named for comprehensive review of King County Investment Pool

Continued challenges in King County Investment Pool show need for advisory panel

Council creates advisory panel to conduct review of King County Investment Pool