Cash Management Division    

As the clearinghouse for all of the State's cash inflows and outflows totaling $40 billion, the Cash Management Division is responsible for managing the State's cash transactions, banking relationships, and short-term investments. It is organized into four units including Bank Control and Reconciliation, Cash Control , Short-Term Investments, and Client Services.  The Division's activities include cash accounting and reporting, cash positioning and forecasting, short-term investing, and bank account administration. The mission of the Division is to prudently and productively manage its clients' cash, including that of State agencies and authorities, and 260 municipalities and local government entities.

    Fiscal Year 2005 Highlights    

During the 2005 fiscal year, the Cash Management division undertook several initiatives with state agencies aimed at: accelerating payments to state agencies via electronic transfers and the Internet; streamlining the flow of funds between bank accounts and investment vehicles; expanding electronic payments to vendors through the ACH system; consolidating bank accounts to reduce service fees and unproductive balances; and improving protections against check fraud by upgrading agency bank accounts to include “positive pay” fraud protection services. These initiatives built on previous efforts to better utilize technology and provide greater efficiencies and responsiveness while maintaining effective oversight and controls in the management of state funds.

    Short-Term Investment Fund Highlights    

In May 2006, the Short-Term Investment Fund (STIF) reached an all-time high of $6.3 billion in assets under management and had its AAAm rating, the highest available, affirmed by Standard & Poor’s.

STIF is an investment fund for the liquid cash investments of the State Treasury, state agencies and authorities, municipalities, and other political subdivisions of the State. STIF is valued for having very competitive yields, a low risk profile, low expense ratio, and high level of liquidity, allowing participating authorities to withdraw funds on the same day they request them.

The total number of state, local and regional agencies and authorities participating in STIF has grown from 241 in January 1999 to 320 as of April 2006, an increase of 33 percent. Currently, 137 of Connecticut’s 169 towns participate in STIF.

During the past calendar year, STIF earned a rate of 3.38 percent, outperforming its iMoneyNet benchmark[1], which averaged 2.97 percent, by 41 basis points. It also outperformed the S&P Rated Government Investment Pool Index[2], which averaged 2.88 percent, by 50 basis points. STIF’s 2005 performance also ranked first in the country among 47 government investment pools reported on by TRACS Financial Research[3], which monitors the performance of government investment pools on a monthly basis.

STIF’s above-average performance during the past seven years has provided $110 million in additional income, above its benchmark, to participating municipal, state and regional agencies and authorities. That includes $17.9 million during calendar year 2005. STIF has outperformed its iMoneyNet benchmark by more than 30 basis points for seven consecutive years.

The Treasurer’s Office has also launched an online account access and transaction system for STIF investors, making the program even more accessible and efficient. By utilizing STIF Express, investors can monitor balances, confirm trades and income distributions, and access transaction histories. STIF Express also permits investors to use the online system to execute transactions for purchases and redemptions.

For more information about the Short-Term Investment Fund, visit the Treasury Web site at: http://www.state.ct.us/ott/STIFhome.htm.