U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, Purchasing Division, Room 1230, 844 North Rush St., Chicago, IL 60611-2092

R -- TRUST FUND INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES SOL 99-C-41 DUE 102299 POC Donald C. Augustyn, (312/751-4535) I. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subject 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Offers are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. II. This solicitation is issued as a Request-For Quotation (RFQ) 99-C-41. III. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular Number 97-13. IV. This solicitation is not a small business set-aside. V. A. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is an independent agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government and is responsible for administering the Railroad Retirement Act. Section 15(e) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 authorizes the RRB to invest funds in interest-bearing obligations of the United States, or obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the UnitedStates, or other obligations which are lawful investments for trust funds of the United States (45 U.S.C. 231n(e)). The Railroad Retirement System covers approximately 1 million participants, and the trust funds (the Railroad Retirement Account, the Dual Benefits Payments Account, the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account, and the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Account) contain approximately $17 billion in assets currently invested exclusively in U.S. Treasury securities directly with the Department of the Treasury. Currently, approximately 50 percent of trust fund assets are invested in longer to intermediate term Treasury securities. This RFQ is for a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to provide investment advisory services as described in detail below. The RRB is also seeking to contract for a consultant to measure and report the agency's fixed income investment performance under terms of RFQ 99-C-40. The same consultant WILL NOT be selected for both the investment performance contract and the investment advisory contract. B. The contractor shall provide investment advisory services, in either oral or written formats, as required, listed: 1. Review current written investment policy and strategy; 2. Provide written transaction advice and analysis as needed but at least once a month; 3. Recommend and/or provide training in fixed income investments at the RRB headquarters in Chicago, Illinois; 4. Recommend (or if appropriate provide) the quantitative tools necessary to conduct the analyses of fixed income investments and provide training in the use of these tools at the RRB headquarters in Chicago, Illinois; 5. Provide other informational material that may be needed to perform the aforementioned tasks; 6. Attend investment or other meetings in Chicago, Illinois. The current RRB investment policy statement and a sample quarterly report are available upon request to the contracting office listed above. VI. FAR Provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is hereby included by reference. Offerors must provide the following: 1. Professional Requirement; To be considered for award a firm or individual must include samples of performance reports, policy statements, and/or strategy recommendations which would demonstrate experience and qualifications in performing this type of engagement. These documents will demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of fixed income markets; detailed knowledge of quantitative fixed income investment tools; and a minimum of 10 years of providing and/or teaching fixed income investment advisory services related to interest-bearing obligations of the United States, obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States, and other obligations which are lawful investments for trust funds of the United States. Such securities include: United States Department of the Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and zero coupon securities; Farm Credit System Financial Assistance Corporation (FCSFAC) bonds; Farmers Home Administration (FmHA bonds; Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) obligations; Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) obligations, participations, or other instruments; Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) obligations, participations, or other instruments; Resolution Financing Corporation obligations. 2. Provide a fixed price hourly rate, by skill-level if appropriate, to provide task-order services under terms of the proposed BPA for the initial one-year BPA term with two one-year options. The hourly rates should be fully loaded to include all telephone support and travel costs. The RRB shall issue task orders in the minimum of $25,000 during the initial contract term. 3. Proposal Format: Vendors interested in competing for this engagement shall provide the following: a. Statement of work (1) Statement outlining the work tasks necessary to provide the advisory services listed above. This statement should include detail about required research activities, staff qualifications and estimated time needs, the work steps involved in satisfying the requirement. Dollar estimates of each task cycle would be appreciated. (2) Statement outlining the timeframes in which the requested work would be performed and products delivered. Submission of written documents shall include contractor's submission of draft written documents, RRB draft document review, and contractor's submission of final written product. Timeframes shall be defined as "calendar days after receipt of order." Transaction advice and analysis products shall be submitted within mutually negotiated timeframes. B. Provide detail of corporate experience to include: Number of years managing or evaluating fixed income securities; Number of years performing advisory services; A detail of corporate and/or academic experience including individual expertise/qualifications in working on the required tasks. Provide a narrative detailing the strength and expertise of fixed income research staff. Discuss experience in implementing formalized procedures and recommending necessaryanalytical tools. Provide the names of five clients, (name and telephone number) to which your firm provides the listed services. List all clients if less than five. (2) The size (in dollars) and the number of fixed income accounts for each year from 1988-1998 (as of December 31) and as of June 30, 1999, (3) The June 30, 1999, balances of the 10 largest accounts in the fixed income market (list all balances if less than 10 accounts), (4) A description of any research and development process used, (5) A copy of the organization's 1998 annual report. Offerors shall provide four hard-copies of these proposals. VI. Proposals will be evaluated using the following technical and past performance criteria: a. Quality of work plan to achieve defined tasks; b. Expertise and experience of staff; c. Past performance. The relationship of price to all other factors is 1:2. Responses will be evaluated according to which firm can meet the functional requirements at the best value to the Government. VII. FAR Provision 52.212-3, Offeror's Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items, must be completed and submitted with the offer. VIII. FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation. IX. FAR Clause, 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statues or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items, hereby applies to this acquisition. X. FAR Clause, 52.232-18, Availability of Funds, applies to this solicitation. Offeror certifies price and terms offered in response to this solicitation are valid for 90 calendar days from the date of offer. XI. Offers and supporting documentation shall be received in this office no later than 11:00 a.m. local time, on October 22, 1999. Mark outside of the envelope clearly with "RFQ 99-C-41 enclosed" and bidder's name and address. Facsimile responses will not be accepted. The RRB will not send an acknowledgment of receipt of any firm's submission. Posted 10/01/99 (W-SN387737). (0274)

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