The Dangers of Relying on a Legal List: West Virginia Consolidated Investment Fund - Book Report/Review Example

Download file to see previous pages The article “The Dangers of Relying on a Legal List: A Case Study of the West Virginia Consolidated Investment Fund” is a case study of what happened in West Virginia; how its reliance on the legal list fiduciary standard might have contributed to the losses that still affect the financial picture of the state today; and how it is important for governmental units to implement cash management strategies, and to hire qualified people, in order to adequately protect the public’s money from financial disaster.” The story began in 1978 when local governments were encouraged to pool in their investment money with the West Virginia State in the Consolidated Investment Fund, managed by the West Virginia Investment Management Board. At first, the local governments were reaping massive returns. In 1984, James Manchin became State Treasurer. The guidelines imposed on the Consolidated Investment Fund were at first very strict: only investments with a maturity date of no longer than ninety days can be entered into by the Fund to protect against market fluctuations. However, because Manchin and his deputy, Margolin wanted to make more aggressive investment strategies, the maturity was extended to ten years. The investment strategy became bolder and the fund engaged in heavy-volume, short-term Treasury securities trading. There was also a heavy reliance on futures contracts. This was a strategy that paid off in the beginning, but only a year later, because of an embargo imposed by then-President Ronald Reagan on Japan the bond market fell down sharply and continued on a steady decline for months. A series of stopgap measures only heightened the problem – entering the reverse repurchase agreement market only exacerbated the losses. Paying the local governments interests when the fund was no longer making profits but was operating at a loss cost the fund several millions of dollars. Manchin allegedly tried to conceal the losses at first but the hiring of an independent auditor revealed a $160 million imbalance in the account books. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More