§ 5.23.060. Investments.

A.

Investment of Funds.

1.

County Contributions shall be allocated to the Investment Funds as specified under subsections C and D of this section. Subject to the other applicable provisions of the Plan and the Trust Agreement, the Trustee shall hold, manage, administer, value, invest, reinvest, account for and otherwise deal with each Investment Fund separately. The Trustee or Investment Manager shall invest and reinvest the principal and income of each Fund and shall keep each such Fund invested, without distinction between principal and income, in such property, investments and securities as the Investment Manager for such fund may deem to be suitable and in accordance with the requirements for such Fund specified by the Administrative Committee upon its creation.

2.

Dividends, interest and other distributions received in respect of each Investment Fund shall be reinvested in the same Fund in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Agreement.

3.

The Trustee, in its sole discretion, may keep such portion of each Investment Fund in cash or cash equivalents either pending the selection and purchase of suitable investments under such Fund or as the Trustee may from time to time deem to be necessary or advisable to maintain sufficient liquidity to meet the obligations of the Plan or for other reasons.

B.

Account. Each Participant shall have established for him a Tax Deferred Contributions Account and a Matching Contributions Account to reflect the Tax Deferred Contributions and Matching Contributions, respectively, that are made for him. Separate records shall be maintained for each such Account showing the portion of such Account invested in each Investment Fund and showing the amount of County Contributions to each such Account, payments and withdrawals therefrom and the amount of income, expenses, gains and losses attributable thereto. Both such Accounts are referred to herein as a Participant's "Account" and the interest of each Participant hereunder at any time shall consist of his Account balance (as determined in subsection E2 of this section) as of the last preceding Valuation Date plus credits and minus debits to such Account since that Valuation Date.

C.

Investment by Participants.

1.

Each Participant may instruct the Trustee or TPA, as applicable, to allocate his Tax Deferred Contributions and his Matching Contributions if such Matching Contributions are 100 percent vested and nonforfeitable (collectively, "Contributions") among the Investment Funds. A Participant may change the allocation of future Contributions and may transfer past Contributions, adjusted for earnings, gains and losses, and applicable Plan charges, if any, from one Investment Fund to another. Any change to amounts already credited to a Participant's Account will be based on the value of such Account on the Valuation Date immediately preceding the date that such change is effective. A Participant may make investment elections at the time and manner prescribed by procedures established from time to time by the Administrative Committee.

2.

In addition, effective October 1, 1999 each Participant likewise may instruct the Trustee or TPA, as applicable, to allocate among the investment funds, the portion of his or her Matching Contributions that is vested and nonforfeitable in accordance with Section 5.23.060 C1.

D.

Investment by Administrative Committee. Plan assets that are not invested pursuant to Participant instructions under Section 5.23.060 C, including but not limited to Plan assets for which no Participant investment instructions are received, nonvested Matching Contributions that are not subject to Participant instructions under Section 5.23.060 C, forfeiture accounts, accumulated fees and unallocated Plan earnings, shall be invested by the Trustee as instructed by the Administrative Committee in one or more Investment Funds as the Administrative Committee in its discretion may determine.

E.

Trust Fund Allocation and Valuation.

1.

Allocation.

a.

Except as may otherwise be provided by the Administrative Committee, the assets credited to each Participant's Accounts shall be allocated among the Investment Funds in accordance with the investment option or options chosen by such Participant or the Administrative Committee, as the case may be, effective no later than the first business day following the business day on which the Trustee or its Agent has received appropriate instructions, or such later date as is commercially reasonable under the circumstances.

b.

As of each Valuation Date, the net gain or loss of each Investment Fund, determined in accordance with Section 5.23.060 E2 below, shall be allocated by the Trustee or its Agent in accordance with the instructions received by the Trustee from the TPA to the Accounts of Participants in such Investment Funds in proportion to the amounts of such Accounts invested in such Investment Fund on such Valuation Date, exclusive of amounts to be credited but including amounts (other than the net loss, if any, determined pursuant to Section 5.23.060 E2) to be debited to such Accounts as of such Valuation Date.

2.

Valuation.

a.

As of the close of business each Valuation Date, the TPA shall determine or cause to be determined the value of each Investment Fund. The TPA may rely on net asset value calculations, book values and other data with respect to the value of Plan assets held in the Investment Funds furnished to it by the Administrative Committee, Investment Managers, the County Treasurer, custodians or other entities authorized to provide valuation data. The TPA shall communicate such valuation to the Trustee. The TPA shall be responsible for monthly reconciliation of its records with the records of the third-parties from which it receives valuation data.

b.

Each such valuation shall be made on the basis of the net gain or loss to each such Investment Fund between the current Valuation Date and the last preceding Valuation Date. The net gain or loss of an Investment Fund shall include realized and unrealized earnings, interest income, dividends actually paid and other income of such Fund during such period, and shall be reduced by expenses paid, if any, that are to be charged to such Investment Fund in accordance with the terms of the Plan and the Trust Agreement. The transfer of funds to or from an Investment Fund, the allocation of Tax Deferred Contributions and Matching Contributions, and payments, distributions and withdrawals from an Investment Fund to provide benefits under the Plan for Participants or Beneficiaries shall not be deemed to be income, expenses or losses of the Investment Fund. A similar valuation shall be made at any other time the TPA, Administrative Committee or its Agent deems it appropriate to make such a valuation.

c.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrative Committee or its Agent may, in accordance with applicable requirements of applicable law, instruct the TPA to (1) adopt such accounting procedures as the Administrative Committee or its Agent considers appropriate, reasonable and equitable to establish a proportionate crediting of net gain or loss of an Investment Fund and of Contributions made to an Investment Fund as of each Valuation Date, and (2) adopt such other valuation procedures as the Administrative Committee or its Agent considers appropriate, reasonable and equitable to determine the value of the Investment Funds. Subject to the TPA's rights and duties under the contract between it and the County, the reasonable and equitable decision of the TPA as to the value of each Investment Fund as of each Valuation Date shall be conclusive and binding upon all Participants and Beneficiaries having any interest, direct or indirect, in such Investment Fund.

3.

No Guarantee Against Loss. The County, the Board, the Administrative Committee, the TPA and the Trustee do not guarantee in any manner the Investment Funds or any part thereof against loss or depreciation. All persons having an interest in the Investment Funds shall look solely to such Funds for payment with respect to such interest. The County, the Board, the Administrative Committee, the TPA and the Trustee are not authorized to advise a Participant as to that Participant's selection of Investment Funds, and the fact that designated Investment Funds are available to Participants for investment shall not be construed as a recommendation for the investment of contributions hereunder in all or any of such Funds. The selection of an Investment Fund by a Participant is his or her sole responsibility and shall constitute an exercise of control over the assets of his or her Investment Accounts. Each Participant who so exercises control shall, by such exercise, release and agree, on his or her behalf and on behalf of his or her heirs and beneficiaries, to indemnify and hold harmless the County, the Board, the Administrative Committee, the TPA, the Trustee and any Agent, officer or employee of any of them, from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, costs or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) caused by or arising out of such exercise, including without limitation any diminution in value or losses incurred from such exercise.

(Ord. 2001-0097 § 2 (part), 2001.)