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Since 1992, Ontario municipalities have had the legislative authority to invest jointly with other Ontario municipalities in approved investments either directly or through an agent. It has long been recognized that participation in joint investment initiatives offers clear advantages to each investor municipality. By pooling the monies to be invested, larger amounts are available for investment, which generally results in higher interest rates than individual, smaller investment amounts. The municipality also benefits from increased investment security through owning a portion of a diverse investment portfolio rather than having a disproportionate share of its investments with a single institution or confined to one specific term. In addition, collectively a group can realize lower individual costs related to retaining the services of professional fund managers.
From late 1992 to early 1995, three joint investment initiatives were available for municipalities:
- The CHUMS Money Market Investment Fund
- sponsored by the Municipal Finance Officers' Society of Ontario through its subsidiary, CHUMS Financing Corporation (CHUMS)
- The LAS Short-term Investment Pool
- sponsored by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) through its subsidiary, Local Authority Services Limited (LAS); and
- The LAS Bond Pool
- again sponsored by AMO through LAS.
In 1994, CHUMS and LAS decided to combine their efforts to better meet the needs of all Ontario municipalities. The best aspects of the CHUMS Money Market Investment Fund, the LAS Short-term Investment Pool, and the LAS Bond Pool, were selected and the three products were replaced with a single investment program known as "One - The Public Sector Group of Funds", which offered a Money Market and a Bond Portfolio. The new program was successful and it continued to grow through to the end of the decade.
Changes in 2002 to the Municipal Act Eligible Investment Regulation (O. Reg. 438/97, as amended to O. Reg. 39/07), expanded the range of eligible investments available to Ontario municipalities to include highly-rated asset-backed securities and highly-rated commercial paper.
Further amendments to the Eligible Investment Regulation in December 2005 allowed municipal investment through the One Investment Programs in both Canadian Equities and longer term Canadian corporate bonds, but did not make this power available to individual municipalities; instead only One was given investment authority related to Canadian Equities and longer term Canadian corporate bonds. These changes allowed One to grow our line of available investment products to provide greater investing flexibility with the prospect of increased rates of return. One launched an Equity Portfolio in 2007 and a Corporate Bond Portfolio in 2008.
Each of the four current One portfolios has a number of carefully selected securities, with the securities in each portfolio being chosen in accordance with strict guiding principles for each portfolio that limit overall risk exposure. As a result of the large size of each portfolio, professional management, and strict investment guidelines, every investment in One receives the benefit of being instantly diversified amongst all securities held by the portfolio.
The One Funds program was renamed in 2010, and is now “The One Investment Program”. The program now offers investment options to not only the Ontario municipal sector but also the broader Ontario public sector.
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