About

About Public Funds Investment Institute

We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering participants in the $4 trillion public funds investment market with insights, tools and resources to help them make well-informed investment decisions.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide timely data and news, cutting-edge research, and best-practices advocacy to promote the common interests of public funds investors.

Our Vision and Values

We focus exclusively on the unique needs and interests of public funds investors, supporting a community for investors to connect, share best practices, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments in public funds investing. We strive to be a leading resource and advocate for public funds investors, promoting best practices, strong governance, and positive impact on society.

Expertise

We want to be the go-to resource for news and analysis, offering insights and knowledge gained from years of experience in the industry.

Integrity

We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards, ensuring independence, transparency and honesty in all of our interactions.

Collaboration

We foster a collaborative community of investors who share best practices and work together towards common goals.

Impact

We believe in the positive impact that public funds investing can have on society and are dedicated to promoting responsible investment practices that benefit the greater community.

Our Leadership

Marty Margolis

FOUNDER
Marty Margolis founded the company that grew into PFM Asset Management, the nation’s premier public sector investment manager. He led the company for 40 years until it was acquired by a regional bank in 2021. He pioneered in creating the first grass roots local government investment pool in the nation (Pennsylvania) the first state-sponsored non arbitrage pool (Virginia), the creation of a multi-asset class outsourced chief investment officer product, and the development of a robust national separate account business. When he left PFMAM in 2021 it had $150 billion of assets under management.

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Insights

Repo: An Under-Appreciated Asset*

Repo—repurchase agreements if you will—is both simple and complex. Simple because once documentation is in place it’s quite easy to place a trade using a secure message, a trading platform or even—heaven forbid— a phone call. We used to joke that it was as simple as pushing the repo button. But the complexity is around […]

If Not Treasuries, Then What?

The downgrade by Moody’s of the credit of the United States has some folks thinking about whether to continue to invest in Treasuries. If you are a public funds treasurer the answer seems pretty simple, though the reasoning may be a bit complex/convoluted. For one thing, for most public agencies investment authority is limited to […]

Does it Matter? Moody’s Rating Downgrade of U.S. Sovereign Debt.

Moody’s Ratings’ downgrade of the credit of the United States on May 16 is not a major market moving event. Rather it is a sign along the path we are on, a path of rising sovereign debt loads and ineffective efforts either to control the growth or pay the cost of government. The seeds of […]