Mountain View Finance & Investment Committee Meeting – January 27, 2026
Mountain View Council of Finance Committee and Investment Review Committee Meeting – January 27, 2026
The Council of Finance Committee and Investment Review Committee met on January 27, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. in a hybrid format. The committee reviewed the city's investment portfolio, heard an economic outlook from Chandler Asset Management, approved minutes from a prior meeting, and discussed expanding socially responsible investing prohibitions based on public comment. All members were present.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval (Item 3.1): Minutes from the December 6, 2024 meeting were approved as amended (correction to item 5.2 on name spelling). Committee member Ramirez moved, member Ramos seconded. Roll call: 3 yes, chair abstained due to prior participation.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Oral Communications (Item 4): No public speakers on non-agenda items.
- Public Comments on Investment Policy (Items 5.1/5.2):
- Sammy, a Mountain View resident, expressed full support for expanding the city's prohibited investments to include companies involved in arms, military services, mass incarceration, and related activities, citing the city's "Community for All" values and concerns about human rights.
- Ronnie Ziger, a longtime Mountain View resident, also expressed support for the update, noting personal family history of fleeing state-sponsored violence and current threats from ICE. He urged the city to take a "modest but morally clear action."
Discussion Items
- 5.1 – Presentation of City's Portfolio & Investment Policy: Bill Denny of Chandler Asset Management presented the economic outlook and portfolio status as of June 30, 2025. Key points:
- U.S. government shutdown paused most October 2025 economic data; CPI expected Friday; employment showing "low hire, low fire" environment.
- Inflation: core PCE just below 3%; expected to remain around 3% through June 2026.
- Treasury yield curve steepening; portfolio duration slightly lower than benchmark but complying.
- Portfolio total returns: one-year 5.77% vs. benchmark 5.76%; five-year 1.43% vs. 1.44%.
- All-corporate portfolio: one-year 6.69% vs. 6.62% (outperformance driven by new single-A rated names like Morgan Stanley, Toyota, JP Morgan, Qualcomm, Wells Fargo).
- Socially responsible investing (SRI) compliance: no prohibited investments in fossil fuels, firearms, or tobacco; Caterpillar noted as potentially controversial but classified as capital equipment.
- Committee members asked about average dollar price, yield pickup from single-A securities, and appropriateness of treasury concentration. Chandler affirmed treasuries remain appropriate. No action taken on this item.
- 5.2 – Annual Report of the Investment Review Committee (FY 2024-25): Staff presented the draft report covering compliance, performance, and portfolio allocation. Highlights:
- Total portfolio just over $1 billion; average earnings rate 3.07%, yielding $31.3 million interest.
- Duration benchmark compliance: within 3% for 9 of 12 months; lag due to limited new money.
- Corporate holdings increased to 11.7% (13% as of September 2025) under the expanded single-A policy.
- Diversification: treasuries up, agencies down due to limited issuance.
- Discussion on bifurcating the portfolio to match longer-term liabilities of capital projects/restricted funds—staff and Chandler will continue exploring when yield curve normalizes.
- Public Comment and Deliberation on Socially Responsible Investing: Following public comments, the committee debated expanding prohibited investments. Members expressed support for the spirit but raised concerns about broad definitions (e.g., "military services," "mass detention") and workload. Staff suggested reviewing the approved list and other jurisdictions' policies. Chandler noted they already use S&P ESG scores but charge an additional fee for full reporting. Committee member Radkey proposed adding a check for broker-dealer auditor registration with PCAOB.
Key Outcomes
- Motion (by Mayor Ramirez, seconded by Vice Mayor Ramos): Unanimously passed to:
- Accept the draft Investment Review Committee report for FY 2024-25, subject to staff and chair review for submission to City Council.
- Direct staff to evaluate committee member Radkey's suggestion regarding broker-dealer auditor PCAOB registration and incorporate if reasonable.
- Direct staff, in consultation with Chandler Asset Management, to evaluate the public's request to expand SRI prohibitions (focusing on mass incarceration, detention, arms, etc.) by:
- Reviewing the current approved investment list for any potentially affected names.
- Providing examples of similar policies from other jurisdictions (e.g., Richmond, Alameda).
- Reporting findings at the next regular committee meeting (not requiring a special meeting).
- Staff will not make subjective determinations; the committee will decide based on presented information.
- The motion passed unanimously with no further action on the investment policy itself at this meeting.
Meeting Transcript
On to the Council of Finance Committee and Investment Review Committee meeting of October 22, 2025. It's 8.33 a.m. I'll call the meeting to order. So note that all committee members are present. This is a hybrid meeting, allowing the public to comment in person and virtually, and instructions for addressing the committee virtually can be found on the agenda. We've already done a roll call. I noted that all the committee members are present. um uh including our uh including the uh of the investment review committee which includes non-councils thank you everyone for being here um item three we have minutes to approve from the December 2024 meeting item 3.1 um that's the minutes of the CFC IRC meeting um December 6 2024 would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person like to provide comment this item. If so, please click the raise hand button and zoom and in-person attendees can fill out a blue or I guess a yellow speaker card or raise their hand to be called upon and we'll public speakers may speak for up to three minutes on this item. So this is just the minutes. If anyone from the public has any comments on the minutes. No. So we don't have any in-person or virtual speakers on. Are there any committee member comments or motions to approve events. Second. I wanted to fix 5.2 on my name. Oh. You said 5.2 on the menu. Yeah. On one. Oh, I see it. That's all. Thank you. yeah do you want to um amend your motion yeah we'll move to approve as amended yes we have a motion by uh meeting member ramirez seconded by uh committee member ramos um i will uh we'll do a roll call vote on this but i'll all abstain since i was on the committee at the time or uh but holding back to the office and so um is it okay to do a little call for that one so we have a record individual so maybe one of the students for me there you go i'm fired in here roll call yes uh committee member dud wacky here um council senior yes member emily ronnes yes and chair I'll abstain. Thank you. So that concludes item three. We'll move on to item four, which is oral communication from the public. So this portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to speak on anything that isn't on the agenda today. So would any member of the public joins virtually or in person like to comment on items that are not on today's agenda? Please, if you're on Zoom, please click the raised hand button and attendees. raise their hand if they'd like. Seeing none, we'll close oral communications for the public and move on to item 5.1, presentation of the status of the city's portfolio and investment policy. The finance administrative services director
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