Request for Qualifications for Selling Group Members

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Eustacia Knight
5 years ago
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1 Request for Qualifications for Selling Group Members

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ISSUER OVERVIEW... 3 DIRECTORS & OFFICERS... 3 HISTORY... 3 WHO WE SERVE... 4 BACKGROUND... 5 SCOPE OF SERVICES... 5 EVALUATION... 5 COMMUNICATION & TIMELINE... 6 SUBMISSION QUESTIONS... 6 ATTACHMENT A

3 ISSUER OVERVIEW The Vermont Municipal Bond Bank (the Bond Bank ) was created by the Vermont legislature in 1970 to assist eligible governmental units access public financing markets. The Bond Bank provides municipal loans for local infrastructure projects through the pooled loan program. Loans are primarily financed through the Bond Bank s issuance of publicly offered tax-exempt bonds. On an on-going basis, the Bond Bank services its loans and provides outreach and planning assistance to potential borrowers. The Bond Bank also co-manages the State s Revolving Funds with the Department of Environmental Conservation. Loans are issued for the planning and construction of municipal drinking water and clean water projects. Please visit for more information. DIRECTORS & OFFICERS The Bond Bank is governed by a five-member Board of Directors with four appointed by the Governor and the State Treasurer as an ex-officio member. David Kimel, Chair Deborah Winters, Treasurer Kathryn Boardman David Coates Beth Pearce Mission To assist Vermont s municipalities and other qualified public bodies in gaining access to affordable, innovative and appropriate financing to meet their capital needs Vision To support Vermont s municipalities and other qualified bodies in making informed and knowledgeable financing decisions for present and future generations HISTORY The Bond Bank was created by the Vermont legislature in 1970 to assist governmental units access public financing markets. The VMBB has provided over $2.3 billion in loans for local infrastructure projects across Vermont through its pooled loan program. Loans are primarily capitalized with funds raised by tax exempt bond issuances. Over the last five years, the Bond Bank has issued nearly $500 million in new money and refunding bonds. 3

4 WHO WE SERVE The Bond Bank pooled loan program makes loans to governmental units throughout the state. Borrowers can include any county, municipality, school district, or other public body. The distribution of borrowers among the several Vermont counties, and the number and amount of loans to different classes of borrower, are shown below. 4

5 BACKGROUND The Bond Bank is a highly rated ( Aa1 and AA+ ) issuer with regular debt issuances. The Bond Bank has long enjoyed strong bond sale participation from individuals and separately managed accounts. The Bond Bank wishes to further broaden its investor base by increasing distribution of its bonds to more first-time investors and other individuals that have not regularly participated in past sales. In particular, the Bond Bank wishes to increase the conversion of bond sale inquiries from the general public to bond sales through user friendly account set-up and bond ordering. SCOPE OF SERVICES The Bond Bank seeks qualified selling group members or distribution agreement partners for participating in on-going negotiated debt offerings. The selling group pool will be used to complement the existing municipal syndicate used by the Bond Bank by providing broader distribution of Bond Bank bonds. Success will be measured by both by the number of total orders placed as well as new accounts participating in the sale. Selected participants will be placed within one or more of the participation tiers described below. Upon selection, participants will be expected to be active members of selling group. Tier I < $10 million Tier II $10 million to $35 million Tier III > $25 million EVALUATION Reponses will be evaluated based on experience as well as completeness and simplicity of answers to questions below. Responses are not expected to exceed 10 pages. All responses must include a signed copy of the Proposer Warranties included in Attachment A. 5

6 COMMUNICATION & TIMELINE Written questions regarding this request for qualifications ( RFQ ) will be accepted via to the distribution below until 10:00 pm ET on Friday, April 20 th, Responses to questions will be provided on a rolling basis, no later than 5:00 pm ET on Wednesday, April 25 th, Responses to this RFQ are due via to the distribution below by 10:00 pm ET on Friday, April 27 th, Michael Gaughan Vermont Municipal Bond Bank michael@vtbondagency.org Submission Distribution Jeff Smith Omnicap Group LLC jsmith@omnicap.com Renee Boicourt Lamont Financial Services Corporation renee@lamont.com The Bond Bank reserves the right to delay, postpone, or not select selling group and distribution partners. Selection is expected to occur on or before May 4 th, SUBMISSION QUESTIONS 1. Provide the name, title, and contact information for the Bond Bank s primary contact. 2. In tabular format, provide relevant experience with distributing bonds to individuals and separately managed accounts only over the last two years (starting January 1, 2016), please include: a. Issuer; b. Firm role; c. Series; d. Sale date; e. Retail sale period (yes or no); f. Retail definition; g. Par size; h. Individual orders placed by firm (# and $) and number of accounts; and i. Separately managed account orders placed by firm (# and $) and number of accounts. 3. Provide a URL link to a description of your firm s public finance practice. Narratively describe any other relevant details not included in the website. 4. Describe the number of captive accounts held by your firm that are anticipated to participate in the Bond Bank s sale. Highlight Vermont versus non-vermont accounts as well as location (via zip code or other metric) of Vermont accounts. 6

7 5. Describe in steps (ex. 1, 2, 3, etc ) the process a new investor would need to undertake to open an account and place an order for the Bond Bank s bonds. If selected, this information would be posted to the Bond Bank s investor website. The Bond Bank will evaluate the likelihood of success for a first-time investor following the steps as described (i.e. assume general public is audience). 6. Provide URLs or screen shots (if password protected) to web-based tools potential investors would use to learn more about the opportunity, timing, and other details of the Bond Bank s sale. 7. Describe the efforts that would be undertaken to market the Bond Bank s sale. Distinguish efforts that would be used for existing accounts versus new accounts. 8. Generally describe how your firm would add value to the Bond Bank s bond sales. 9. If you are applying to be a qualified distribution agreement partner, describe the distribution agreements you have with another firm. 10. List all licenses and memberships held by your firm and key individuals relevant to the distribution and sale of municipal securities. 7

8 ATTACHMENT A PROPOSER WARRANTIES A. Proposer warrants that all information provided by it in connection with this proposal is true and accurate. B. Proposes warrants that it holds all required licenses and authorizations to undertake the services described in this RFQ. C. Proposer warrants that there are no existing or potential conflicts of interest that would prevent the proposer from fully performing the tasks described in the RFQ. Should a conflict of interest be discovered, the proposer shall make immediate disclosure to the Bond Bank. Signature of Official Authorized to Commit Firm: Name: Title: Firm Name: Date: 8

Request for Qualifications for Website Design & Development

Request for Qualifications for Website Design & Development TABLE OF CONTENTS ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW... 3 DIRECTORS & OFFICERS... 3 HISTORY... 3 WHO WE SERVE... 4 BACKGROUND / OBJECTIVES... 5 BUDGET...