MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – On Monday, the Board of Trustees of the Murfreesboro Community Investment Trust met to further discuss finding the right Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) to manage funds generated by the City selling Murfreesboro Electric 3-years ago. An Outsourced Chief Investment Officer is an outsourced agency, often referred to as an asset management firm or investment consultant.

Board of Trustee members spoke to Brad Alford with Alpha Capital Management on Monday, the company the City is contracting with to spearhead the search for an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer to service the funds. Once the investment consultant is chosen, they will be tasked with instituting investment strategies for the Murfreesboro Electric funds. In talking about the search for the OCIO, Alford said...

Any firms Alpha Capital Management looks at to manage the funds for the trust will have to fill out an RFP before being considered. The RFP is a document to facilitate a bid-seeking process that non-profit groups use when searching for an investment service provider. Over 100 in depth questions on the RFP will ask for details on service fees, performance information and any additional items that may be required to make an informative decision on choosing a firm to oversee the funds.

The funds to manage were derived from the sale of Murfreesboro Electric to Middle Tennessee Electric in 2020 for $245-million. At the time of purchase, MTE put a down-payment on the city owned utility of $43-million and agreed to pay a little over $17.2-million per year over the next 15-years. The agreement calls for a total payment of $302 million over fifteen years, which includes the interest.

The Board of Trustees has the authority and responsibility under the City Charter for the investment and disbursement of a monetary balance designed to supplement the needs of the City and to provide funding for charitable organizations that benefit the community. The larger the financial gain grows, the more the community will benefit.