Minimum eligibility requirements:

The investment consulting firm must be a registered investment advisor under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The investment consulting firm must have been in business for a minimum of five years.

The individual(s) assigned to URS as lead consultant(s) must have a minimum of three years professional experience in the investment consulting field.

The investment consulting firm must have provided investment consulting services to other public retirement systems or corporate pension plans which are approximately the size of URS.

The investment consulting firm must be able to maintain a data processing interface with URS’s custodian bank by tape, disk, on-line connection or other electronic means.

The investment consulting firm must agree to be a fiduciary to the plan as that term is defined in (state law or policy).

The investment consulting firm must agree to disclose all conflicts of interest, all sources of revenue and all affiliations.

Schedule:

The following schedule has been set by the Trustees of URS and may be changed by them if necessary. If the schedule changes, firms receiving the RFP will be notified by mail. In no event will the dates listed below be changed to earlier dates.

RFP issuance	January 1, 2003
Written questions from respondents must be received by	January 30, 2003
Answers to written questions will be disseminated on	February 13, 2003
Proposals due	March 1, 2003 by 4:00 PM EST
Evaluation of proposals by URS	March 1 – 5, 2003
Finalists presentations	March 15, 2003
Consultant selection	March 23, 2003
Contract negotiation	March 23 – 25, 2003
Contract award	March 30, 2003

Contact person:

Ms. Jane Doe

Executive Director

Utopia Retirement System

404 Main Street

Anywhere, Utopia 80439

Telephone (303) 606-9099

Fax (303) 606-9999

Email Jdoe@URS.org

Written questions and answers:

In an effort to clarify any issues in this RFP, the URS will respond only to questions that are presented in writing and received through the mail, via facsimile, or e-mail transmission. Questions should be addressed to the contact person. All questions will be consolidated into a single Q&A document. The source of the questions will not be disclosed in the document. The Q&A document will be distributed to all firms who received the RFP.

NAPPA Notes:

Some RFPs include optional pre-proposal conferences while others do not since questions can be adequately asked and answered through written correspondence.

Proposals:

All interested firms should submit (number) bound copies of their responses to the contact person. Proposals received after the due date and time will not be considered.

Proposals may either be mailed or hand-delivered. If the proposal is sent by mail or commercial express delivery service, the respondents shall be responsible for actual delivery of the proposal to the proper address before the deadline. Faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted. All timely proposals become the property of URS. All proposals are considered to be public record and shall be available for viewing and reproduction as the law provides.

The cost of preparing proposals will be borne by the respondents.

Proposals are to address all the questions posed by URS in the order in which they appear in this RFP. Answers are to be succinct and page limit maximums complied with.

Rules regarding contact:

The proposal period begins on January 1, 2003 and ends on March 30, 2003.

The URS Trustees reserve the right to request additional information from any or all respondents to assist them in their evaluation process. However, no respondent may contact any Trustee or staff, other than the contact person, during the proposal period.

Current service providers who are responding to this RFP are expected to limit their contact for business transactions to URS employees with whom they ordinarily interact and to avoid direct contact with Trustees or other staff during this proposal period, other than that which might occur at regularly scheduled meetings.

Evaluation of proposals:

Proposals will be evaluated by the (Board, committee, subcommittee) with the assistance of the (Executive Director, Administrator) and the (Investment Officer).

During the evaluation process the (Board, committee, subcommittee) may, at its discretion, request any or all firms to make oral presentations. Such presentations will provide firms with an opportunity to answer questions the (Board, committee, subcommittee) may have on a firm’s proposal. Not all firms may be asked to make such oral presentations.

Finalists presentations:

If the Trustees request presentations by finalists, each finalist will have (number) hours to meet with the (Board, committee, and subcommittee). At that time the respondents may present additional written information. It is highly recommended that the lead consultant be present at the finalist’s presentation.

Selection criteria:

The selection of the firm to provide investment consulting services will be based upon the following weighted criteria:

Relevant experience of the firm and the individual consultants proposed for URS	xx%
Proposed work plan, soundness of approach and understanding of the needs of URS	xx%
Demonstrated ability to perform the services referred to in the RFP	xx%
References and recommendations of other clients	xx%
Fees and the value they represent for the services to be provided	xx%

Contract negotiation:

A written contract with the consultant selected will be required. The terms of the contract are expected to be similar to the sample contract which has been provided, however, URS reserves the right to further negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract with the selected consultant. The duration of the contract shall be three years subject to termination upon specified conditions.

Contract award:

URS reserves the right to award all, part, or none of this contract and may award contracts to more than one investment consultant if deemed appropriate and desirable.