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Rated Local Government Investment Pools Weathering Storm Says S&P. Following a halt in redemptions on the unrated Florida State Board of Administration's's Local Government Investment Pool (see survey of investors on site), Standard & Poor's Ratings Services issued a release saying, "[I]ts rated local government investment pools (LGIPs) have successfully managed through the recent credit and liquidity events with little or no impact on the pools' net asset values or ratings." S&P put King County, Washington's investment pool on "CreditWatch" on Oct. 22, but it has taken no action on any other of the 75 LGIPs from 26 states, which hold over $150 billion in assets. Just 17 had asset-backed commercial paper investments with 13.5% exposure on average, and only 9 held any structured investment vehicles (SIVs) with exposures of 3% on average. The largest rated pools (Florida is the largest unrated pool) include: State of Texas Treasury Pool, Texas LGIP, Georgia Fund I, Connecticut Treasurer's STIF, City of Los Angeles General Pool. Our December 2006 issue of Money Fund Intelligence will contained a table of the largest LGIPs, and our pending December 2007 issue will include more on this issue. See also today's WSJ, "Florida Weighs Steps Needed To Lift Freeze on State Fund".
