It all started with an idea.  In 2003 a group of county treasurers and other local finance officers came together to discuss investment options.  Looking for a safe investment vehicle other than the state pool, a concept for a new investment pool, created and governed by local officials, came to the table.  This idea originated the Investment Trust of California; commonly known as CalTRUST.

A program such as CalTRUST was new territory in the public investment world but a group of dedicated, professional, and knowledgeable individuals decided to make it happen.  For over a year CalTRUST was cultivated as a team of investment managers was vetted, governing documents were created, and an administrator was selected.  In 2004, CalTRUST was up and running with $50 million pulled together by a group of 10 public agencies ready to take a chance.

Nine years later, CalTRUST has more than 120 public agency and non-profit participants in California and continues to reach new milestones.  As of April 1, CalTRUST hit their historical high of $1.58 billion in assets.  CalTRUST offers a short-term, medium-term, and money market fund whose growth and yields make it an easy, safe, and reliable diversification tool for California agencies.

In the last year as CalTRUST has grown, it has been able to begin moving toward its other mission; to be an educational resource for public agencies.  Last October, CalTRUST released a two-part white paper and held a webinar on Net Asset Value.  This month, on April 22, CalTRUST will be hosting another FREE webinar to provide California’s public agencies with an economic overview and discussion on the implications for bond markets.  For more information and to register, click here.

The CSAC Finance Corporation has been the CalTRUST Administrator since inception and we are extremely proud of how this JPA that was once just a dream has grown into one of the most stable investment options for local governments.  For more information on CalTRUST please visit www.caltrust.org or contact Laura Labanieh Campbell at 916.650.8186 or llabanieh@counties.org.