Attachment A
The following are responses to inquiries received.
1. Question:
Is the District open to funds with a short track record as investment options? Is there a minimum track record length that a fund should have?
Response:
The District would prefer that an investment fund have at least a three (3) year track record. In exceptional circumstances, a one (1) year track record will be
considered on a case -by-case basis.
2. Question:
If a bidder has comprehensive insurance but not the $5 million Fidelity Bond as mentioned in Section H.11, is that bidder disqualified?
Response:
The Fidelity Bond is not required at the time of proposal submission for the proposal to be deemed responsive. The Fidelity Bond is required 14 days after contract award.
3. Question:
Please provide detail on the request in Section L.18 (I.8); “Please submit a copy of your
proposed investment management agreement for review”?
Response:
4. Question:
In Section L.18 I9 & I10 is the District asking for the individual’s full resume added as an attachment or a brief biography which would be included in the body of the RFP
response?
Response:
A full resume is preferred but a biographical profile with the work history and roles/responsibilities, accomplishments, and education will suffice.
5. Question:
Is IVR a requirement and how flexible is the District with discussing alternatives?
Response:
The District requires IVR capabilities from the bidders.
6. Question:
Please provide the following historical annual data over a 5+ year timeframe (2010 –2015 ytd) for the D.C. College Savings Plan:
1. Total plan assets
2. Total assets by portfolio offered 3. Number of account owners 4. Number of funded accounts
5. Total contributions, withdrawals, and exchanges (net cash flow)
Response:
6.3 Number of Account Owners
6.4 Number of Funded Accounts
AUM - Question 6.1 and 6.2 12/31/2010 12/31/2011 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 12/31/2014 10/31/2015
Income DC 529 4,663,524 5,415,272 6,700,266 6,190,223 6,211,540 6,036,934 Calvert Equity - DC 529 14,889,580 15,396,067 18,708,536 24,646,490 26,456,021 28,752,537 Ameritas PP 529 13,998,695 19,222,483 24,038,333 28,872,201 33,649,384 35,285,916 DC 0-5 23,682,479 24,573,606 31,951,842 42,882,340 47,682,101 49,640,735 DC 06-10 33,294,790 35,132,014 43,348,336 57,251,248 65,661,785 68,542,943 DC 11-13 14,586,212 17,158,987 24,321,227 34,540,828 41,135,954 48,277,316 DC 14-16 12,744,780 15,127,456 18,890,410 23,998,337 30,004,381 36,461,315 DC 17 & Up 11,300,131 14,327,808 18,692,771 22,773,898 27,261,113 29,892,496 SS Equity 500 - DC529 25,150,247 29,128,367 37,452,306 53,931,490 70,044,503 77,927,907 Small Cap - DC529 3,845,684 3,948,611 5,201,013 8,295,914 9,110,838 9,675,518 Balanced - DC 529 5,596,612 6,154,348 7,484,613 10,031,284 12,492,903 12,905,192 International Equity - DC529 721,502 866,984 1,496,308 2,488,657 2,774,853 0
Intl Opportunites - DC529 0 0 0 0 0 3,136,927
Total Assets 164,474,236 186,452,003 238,285,961 315,902,909 372,485,375 403,398,811
Account Owners - Question 6.3 12/31/2010 12/31/2011 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 12/31/2014 10/31/2015
Income DC 529 532 592 637 615 639 625
Calvert Equity - DC 529 1,064 1,118 1,149 1,206 1,299 1,350 Ameritas PP 529 1,033 1,193 1,460 1,543 1,604 1,592 DC 0-5 2,405 2,610 2,877 3,255 3,762 4,050 DC 06-10 1,968 2,187 2,376 2,578 2,811 2,918 DC 11-13 789 956 1,188 1,397 1,556 1,685
DC 14-16 662 732 805 890 1,077 1,246
DC 17 & Up 719 812 938 1,053 1,193 1,279 SS Equity 500 - DC529 1,714 1,867 2,059 2,348 2,899 3,178
Small Cap - DC529 658 702 742 858 949 981
Balanced - DC 529 492 531 632 699 825 857
International Equity - DC529 188 262 341 441 526 0
Intl Opportunites - DC529 0 0 0 0 0 556
TOTAL 12,224 13,562 15,204 16,883 19,140 20,317
Funded Accounts - Question 6.4 12/31/2010 12/31/2011 12/31/2012 12/31/2013 12/31/2014 11/30/2015
Income DC 529 655 724 791 754 777 769
Calvert Equity - DC 529 1,397 1,472 1,510 1,575 1,682 1,782 Ameritas PP 529 1,261 1,494 1,793 1,915 2,016 2,025 DC 0-5 2,843 3,069 3,416 3,892 4,500 4,870 DC 06-10 2,298 2,534 2,774 3,042 3,324 3,464 DC 11-13 862 1,031 1,271 1,500 1,674 1,860 DC 14-16 705 782 857 969 1,176 1,340 DC 17 & Up 789 911 1,051 1,174 1,359 1,462 SS Equity 500 - DC529 2,214 2,428 2,721 3,094 3,810 4,186 Small Cap - DC529 831 886 938 1,079 1,190 1,242 Balanced - DC 529 598 645 781 863 1,039 1,071
International Equity - DC529 226 311 409 536 642 0
Intl Opportunites - DC529 0 0 0 0 0 685
6.5 Total Contributions, Withdrawals and Exchanges (Net Cash Flow)
Net Cash Flow - Question 6.5 Sales Redemptions Net Exchanges
Income DC 529 12/31/2010 $ 775,126.06 -$279,927.07 $37,777.95 Calvert Equity - DC 529 12/31/2010 $ 1,744,882.74 -$541,466.02 -$138,961.91 Ameritas PP 529 12/31/2010 $ 4,403,299.89 -$1,830,508.89 $460,373.51 DC 0-5 12/31/2010 $ 7,148,132.98 -$715,375.32 -$6,101,493.81 DC 06-10 12/31/2010 $ 4,121,500.25 -$655,906.83 $2,197,628.02 DC 11-13 12/31/2010 $ 2,015,644.19 -$206,907.23 -$19,250.60 DC 14-16 12/31/2010 $ 1,638,906.61 -$116,357.06 $599,703.97 DC 17 & Up 12/31/2010 $ 1,545,295.86 -$2,857,316.05 $3,464,710.14 SS Equity 500 - DC529 12/31/2010 $ 4,339,234.14 -$1,142,953.04 -$198,325.10 Small Cap - DC529 12/31/2010 $ 561,252.71 -$199,795.92 -$35,407.04 Balanced - DC 529 12/31/2010 $ 647,926.02 -$280,899.80 -$110,538.58 International Equity - DC529 12/31/2010 $ 308,683.79 -$3,555.00 $18,811.29
Income DC 529 12/31/2011 $ 960,581.13 -$591,378.29 $247,631.87 Calvert Equity - DC 529 12/31/2011 $ 1,655,122.15 -$550,702.23 -$195,742.60 Ameritas PP 529 12/31/2011 $ 5,968,931.11 -$2,497,916.68 $1,227,335.77 DC 0-5 12/31/2011 $ 8,260,794.78 -$550,613.92 -$5,651,720.35 DC 06-10 12/31/2011 $ 4,642,048.06 -$1,003,020.80 -$702,485.16 DC 11-13 12/31/2011 $ 2,212,507.00 -$484,370.42 $960,075.78 DC 14-16 12/31/2011 $ 1,871,985.73 -$274,350.98 $442,234.80 DC 17 & Up 12/31/2011 $ 1,893,222.47 -$3,454,355.03 $4,211,201.97 SS Equity 500 - DC529 12/31/2011 $ 4,605,470.46 -$698,562.30 -$298,780.30 Small Cap - DC529 12/31/2011 $ 562,406.96 -$159,732.60 -$67,703.51 Balanced - DC 529 12/31/2011 $ 627,796.54 -$262,456.98 $19,152.16 International Equity - DC529 12/31/2011 $ 279,480.34 -$24,207.51 $15,441.86
Income DC 529 12/31/2012 $ 896,399.84 -$359,483.71 $280,213.69 Calvert Equity - DC 529 12/31/2012 $ 2,125,136.16 -$743,577.85 -$438,964.49 Ameritas PP 529 12/31/2012 $ 6,280,156.59 -$3,139,942.23 $965,357.76 DC 0-5 12/31/2012 $ 9,930,770.79 -$860,825.80 -$5,662,322.53 DC 06-10 12/31/2012 $ 5,053,242.13 -$867,974.98 -$1,345,025.03 DC 11-13 12/31/2012 $ 3,014,584.77 -$271,903.72 $1,941,188.06 DC 14-16 12/31/2012 $ 2,354,383.89 -$167,633.39 $112,753.15 DC 17 & Up 12/31/2012 $ 2,577,597.14 -$4,318,374.63 $5,102,215.15 SS Equity 500 - DC529 12/31/2012 $ 5,946,232.02 -$1,708,357.68 -$560,494.00 Small Cap - DC529 12/31/2012 $ 912,051.83 -$88,101.89 -$184,281.84 Balanced - DC 529 12/31/2012 $ 984,241.12 -$340,612.98 $19,790.25 International Equity - DC529 12/31/2012 $ 487,962.61 -$37,346.90 -$2,251.89
Income DC 529 12/31/2013 $ 844,618.17 -$604,284.67 -$686,323.51 Calvert Equity - DC 529 12/31/2013 $ 2,108,303.96 -$1,356,041.47 -$504,090.54 Ameritas PP 529 12/31/2013 $ 6,529,066.40 -$4,419,121.47 $1,994,722.73 DC 0-5 12/31/2013 $ 11,882,202.17 -$988,732.74 -$8,763,828.56 DC 06-10 12/31/2013 $ 6,140,955.00 -$1,093,658.63 -$2,005,301.48 DC 11-13 12/31/2013 $ 2,701,301.31 -$484,749.08 $3,171,035.87 DC 14-16 12/31/2013 $ 2,557,690.00 -$377,013.63 $1,118,914.06 DC 17 & Up 12/31/2013 $ 2,027,774.89 -$5,508,313.92 $6,728,731.43 SS Equity 500 - DC529 12/31/2013 $ 7,001,270.48 -$1,720,587.75 -$1,224,078.21 Small Cap - DC529 12/31/2013 $ 1,088,662.64 -$369,690.13 $145,657.38 Balanced - DC 529 12/31/2013 $ 1,676,145.17 -$513,040.67 $27,245.97 International Equity - DC529 12/31/2013 $ 661,624.29 -$75,063.51 $38,586.88
Income DC 529 12/31/2014 $ 725,405.20 -$610,694.70 -$370,055.87 Calvert Equity - DC 529 12/31/2014 $ 2,006,146.20 -$1,403,260.99 -$1,419,257.87 Ameritas PP 529 12/31/2014 $ 7,203,881.49 -$4,812,996.98 $1,538,469.14 DC 0-5 12/31/2014 $ 13,477,996.29 -$990,261.42 -$10,357,806.75 DC 06-10 12/31/2014 $ 7,033,825.27 -$965,062.78 -$1,402,561.66 DC 11-13 12/31/2014 $ 4,138,013.90 -$562,162.30 $648,592.24 DC 14-16 12/31/2014 $ 2,848,771.68 -$735,807.39 $2,529,988.61 DC 17 & Up 12/31/2014 $ 2,392,454.16 -$6,565,997.51 $7,772,716.94 SS Equity 500 - DC529 12/31/2014 $ 9,246,515.51 -$1,991,451.80 $1,415,944.73 Small Cap - DC529 12/31/2014 $ 1,101,780.16 -$370,631.90 -$469,626.48 Balanced - DC 529 12/31/2014 $ 1,790,805.67 -$630,385.26 $310,613.51 International Equity - DC529 12/31/2014 $ 678,501.40 -$100,947.28 -$67,031.11
7. Question:
The Investment Policy Statement limits the fixed income asset allocation to U.S. bonds. Will international bonds be permitted as an underlying investment option for the age based portfolios?
Response:
No.
8. Question:
Are there any limitations on the use of an investment option for the Plan based on number of years of historical performance (minimum fund track record)?
Response:
Yes. See answer to Question #1.
9. Question:
Are Attachments O, Q, R1, and R2 required to be completed by any subcontractors?
Response:
The Prime Contractor shall provide all documentation.
10. Question:
Will bids be accepted for only one of the plans, or must the bids include both?
Response:
The bidder’s proposal shall address all the requirements of the solicitation in regards to the 529 Plan which is a single plan.
11. Question:
Please provide the number of beneficiaries in the D.C. College Savings Plan for each of the last 3 years between the ages of:
5. 15-16 years 6. 17 years and up
Response:
This data is not available.
12. Question:
What is the allocation of accounts?
a. by share class
b. by investment option
c. by share class (primary category), and by investment option (sub-category)
Response:
The District only have one share class (Class A), below is the number of accounts by investment option.
Count Fund Number Fund Name
13. Question
What is the allocation of assets?
a. by share class
b. by share class (primary category), and by investment option (sub-category)
Response:
See response to Question 12.
14. Question
Which share classes comprise the Direct-sold Plan?
Response:
See response to Question 12.
15. Question
Please provide as of June 30, 2015: a. Number of account owners b. Number of beneficiaries
c. Number of accounts, defined as unique account owner to beneficiary relationship d. Average number of investment options per account (account defined as unique
account owner to beneficiary relationship) e. Assets/Accounts broken out by Direct/Advisor
Response:
Question 15 Count
15a- # of account owners 13,713
15b - # of beneficiaries 16,181
15c - # of accounts defined and unique owner to beneficiary19,123 15d - Avg # Investment Options 1.26
Count Assets
16. Question
What are the contributions by share class for each of the last 3 years?
Response:
* as of 11/30/2015
17. Question
What are the redemptions by share class for each of the last 3 years? For each share class, what is the allocation of redemptions by:
a. Qualified Withdrawals b. Non-Qualified Withdrawals c. Outbound Rollovers
Response:
18. Question
What is the average number of investment options (bands) per account?
Response:
As of 9/30/2015:
85% of the accounts had one fund. 9% had two funds.
3% had three funds.
Question 16
Year* Share Class Purchases
2012 A $ 40,562,759 2013 A $ 45,219,614 2014 A $ 52,644,097 2015* A $ 44,506,936
Redemption Allocations - Question 17 Qualified Non Qualified Rollovers
2% had four funds and 1% had five funds.
19. Question
What is the age distribution of Beneficiaries broken out by Direct and Advisor plans?
Response:
This data is not available.
20. Question
What percent of Advisor accounts pay the $15 Annual Account Maintenance Fee for residents and what percent pay the $30 non-resident fee?
Response:
DC residents participate in the DC 529 Plan thru the Direct Plan, while non-residents participate through the Advisor Plan. Therefore residents are not participants in the Advisor Plan while 100% of the non-residents pay the $30 non-resident fee. There are a small number of non-residents that participate in the Plan through payroll deduction.
21. Question
What percent pay the enrollment fee of $25 for non-DC residents?
Response:
100% of non-DC residents pay the enrollment fee.
22. Question
What is the annual Marketing Commitment for 1?) the Direct Plan and 2.) the Advisor plan?
Response:
See response to Question #37.
23. Question
Response:
Unless an account owner has requested that the account be closed, accounts remain open even if there has not been any investment activity in that year.(i.e. a person who
contributed the maximum contribution will not be able to make additional contributions but the account still remains open for qualified withdrawals)
24. Question
What is the distribution of assets by residents vs. non-residents?
Response:
As of 9/30/2015 the asset breakdown was: D.C. Residents: $279.5 million Non-D.C. Residents: $105.9 million
25. Question
What is the distribution of accounts by residents vs. non-residents?
Response:
Except in a very few instances, all DC residents have invested thru the Direct Plan which provides DC residents with certain DC related tax benefits. Non-residents invested through the Advisor sold plan and don’t receive the DC related tax benefits. See chart on accounts for the Direct Plan and the Advisor –sold plan.
As of 9/30/2015 the account breakdown was: D.C. Residents: 17,827 Non-D.C. Residents: 6,789
26. Question
What is the breakdown of account owner state residency? a. By accounts
b. By assets
Response:
27. Question
What is the distribution of assets and accounts by financial intermediary?
Response:
This information is proprietary information of the current Program Manager.
28. Question
How many accounts were assessed the $25 annual fee in 2014? For purposes of the annual fee, please clarify if “accounts” are defined as unique account owner, or unique account owner to beneficiary relationship.
Response:
187 accounts were assessed the $25 annual fee in 2014. Accounts are defined as unique account owner to beneficiary relationship.
29. Question
What percentage of accounts had no financial activity in 2014?
Response:
See answer to Question #23
30. Question
For 2014, please provide a breakdown of transactions by type: a. EFT
b. Payroll contribution c. Inbound Rollover d. Outbound Rollover e. Qualified Withdrawal
-via ACH -via Check
Response to Question 30:
Transactions By Type - Question 30 Trans Code Description Count Dollars
31. Question
Please provide the call volume for each of the last 3 years, on a monthly basis, with a breakdown by:
a. Calls associated with the Direct-sold portion of the plan
-How many calls per day request language translation services, and for which language(s)?
b. Calls associated with the Advisor-sold portion of the plan
-How many calls per day request language translation services, and for which -language(s)
Response:
Receive approximately 5-10 calls requiring Spanish language per year. Calls were not broken down into Direct and Advisor-sold.
Call Type DateTime Calls Handled
DC529 Calls Nov-12 201
32. Question
Please provide the asset positions for each of the investment options.
Response:
See response to questions 6.1 and 6.2.
33. Question
If it provided an advantageous pricing benefit, would a proposal that assumes the advisor plan is rolled into the direct plan be considered?
Response:
Not sure how this can be done, however, if it can be done, it would require that there is a separate plan for DC residents that receive the DC related tax benefits and also are not assess certain charges for some of the services.
34. Question
How should a contractor note any qualifications or exceptions to the terms and conditions of the Solicitation?
Response:
By stating their qualifications or exceptions for the corresponding sections of the RFP and stating the reason for such exceptions.
35. Question
Is the incoming program manager expected to pay any outgoing program manager costs such as conversion costs?
Response:
There are no outgoing payments that would need to be made to the incumbent for contributions made to accounts prior to expiration/termination of the program management agreement.
36. Question
Response:
None
37. Question
Please provide the annual marketing budget for 2015 and the past 3 years.
Response:
The Marketing Budget which includes the cost for advertising, staff to perform the community outreach and education of the plan were:
