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IMF Investment Account Rules and Regulations Summary (August 2019)

Core Content

The document outlines the updated Rules and Regulations for the Investment Account (IA), which were initially adopted in 2013 and amended in 2019. These rules define the structure, responsibilities, and investment strategies for the IA, which is a key mechanism for managing the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s investment assets to generate income and diversify financial sources.

Main Objectives

• Generate Income: The IA aims to generate income to support the Fund's operations.
• Diversify Income Sources: By investing a portion of the Fund's assets, the IA helps increase the Fund's income base.
• Preserve Value: The Endowment Subaccount is designed to preserve the long-term real value of the Fund's resources.

Key Information

Sources of Investment Account Assets

• The IA is funded through:
  • Transfers from the General Resources Account (GRA).
  • Profits from the sale of pre-Second Amendment gold.
  • Profits from the sale of post-Second Amendment gold.
  • Income from IA investments not transferred to the GRA.

Investment Account Subaccounts

• The IA is divided into two subaccounts:
  • Fixed-Income Subaccount: Focuses on generating income while protecting the Fund's balance sheet.
  • Endowment Subaccount: Aims for a long-term real return of 3% in U.S. dollar terms.

Management Responsibilities

• The Managing Director is responsible for:
  • Implementing investment policies.
  • Establishing decision-making and oversight arrangements.
  • Avoiding conflicts of interest.
  • Setting up risk control measures and monitoring mechanisms.
  • Consulting with the Executive Board on key policies and strategies.
  • Providing annual and ad-hoc reports on IA investment activities.

External Asset Managers

• The IA is managed by external asset managers of the highest professional standards.
• The Managing Director may manage certain assets directly, such as:
  • BIS obligations and central bank deposits.
  • Other assets during the transition period after an external manager is terminated.

Custody and Audit

• The Managing Director must ensure safekeeping and custody of IA assets.
• The IA's assets are audited annually by the Fund's external auditors and included in the Fund's financial statements.

Use of Investment Account Income

• Investment income may be:
  • Reinvested in the IA.
  • Retained in the IA.
  • Transferred to the GRA to meet operational expenses.
• The Fund decides annually how to use IA income.

Termination or Reduction of the Investment Account

• The IA may be terminated or reduced by a 70% majority of the total voting power.
• The procedures outlined in Article XII, Sections 6(f)(vii), (viii), and (ix) apply in such cases.
• The Fund must specify which subaccount will be used to fund any reduction.

Review of Rules and Conflict of Interest Policies

• The Executive Board is expected to review the IA rules and conflict of interest policies every five years.

Fixed-Income Subaccount Details

Investment Objective

• Achieve investment returns in SDR terms that exceed the 3-month SDR interest rate.
• Minimize negative returns and underperformance over a 3–4 year horizon.

Asset Allocation and Tranches

• Composed of two tranches:
  • Tranche 1: Shorter-duration (0–3 years), actively managed against a government bond benchmark, with a maximum of 35% in Group 2 assets.
  • Tranche 2: Longer-duration (0–5 years), passively managed with a phased investment approach over five years.
• Eligible Asset Classes:
  • Group 1: Government and central bank debt, international financial institutions, BIS obligations.
  • Group 2: Non-SDR currency government debt, subnational debt, asset-backed securities, and short-term cash equivalents.

Minimum Credit Ratings

• All investments must have a minimum credit rating of A (based on Standard & Poor's long-term rating scale), except for BIS obligations, central bank deposits, and uninvested cash balances.
• The Managing Director may set higher credit ratings for specific asset classes.

Divestment Rules

• Any investment that no longer meets the rating threshold must be divested within three months.
• Corporate bonds and infrastructure debt may be retained or divested based on the Managing Director's modalities.

Investment Limits

• Safeguards against short selling and financial leverage.
• Currency hedging is required for non-SDR currency investments to preserve the SDR basket composition.
• Derivatives may be used to manage interest rate risk, currency exposure, and portfolio balancing.

Endowment Subaccount Details

Investment Objective

• Achieve a long-term real return of 3% in U.S. dollar terms.
• Preserves the real value of the Fund's resources.

Strategic Asset Allocation

• Passively managed portion (at least 90%):
  • 15% in developed market sovereign bonds.
  • 20% in U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (US TIPs).
  • 15% in developed market corporate bonds.
  • 5% in emerging market bonds.
  • 25% in developed market equities.
  • 10% in emerging market equities.
  • 5% in infrastructure debt.
  • 5% in real estate investment trusts (REITs).
• Actively managed portion (up to 10%):
  • 60% in fixed-income instruments.
  • 40% in equities (including REITs).
  • Maximum deviation of ±15 percentage points per category.

Minimum Credit Ratings

• Corporate bonds and infrastructure debt must have a minimum rating of BBB-.
• Other fixed-income assets must have a minimum rating of BBB+.
• The Managing Director may infer credit ratings for non-rated assets.

Rebalancing

• The passively managed portion is rebalanced at least annually to stay close to the SAA benchmark.
• More frequent rebalancing may be required in the case of significant deviation.

Investment Limits

• The Managing Director sets safeguards against short selling and financial leverage.
• Currency hedging is applied to fixed-income securities in developed market currencies against the U.S. dollar.
• Derivatives are allowed for interest rate risk management, currency hedging, and cost reduction in both passively and actively managed portions, subject to risk control parameters.