Fund management

Last Updated: 3 April 2024

Our treasury management and investment activity set out how we manage and invest money. 

Treasury management 

We collect council tax, business rates and council house rents which are banked until needed to pay for salaries and running costs. Some of the money is paid to Cumbria Police and central government. 

We have reserves for the future. 

Our Treasury Management and Capital strategies and policies set out how we make investments: 

2020/21 to 2024/25 Treasury Management Strategy (PDF 242KB / 27 pages)

2018/19 to 2022/23 Treasury Management Framework (PDF 1.13MB / 29 pages)

2020/21 to 2033/34 Capital Strategy (PDF 241KB / 28 pages)

Investments

Our Treasury Management Strategy sets out:

• the types of lending we can do
• who we can lend to
• and the time limits of individual investments

Our approach is to treat the security of investments as more important than the returns they make. We do not invest in shares. 

Core investments are made with an external fund manager who can invest in cash instruments and government stock. As well as earning interest, they have a value which can go up or down.

Cash flow is managed by our finance staff on a day to day basis. This sometimes involves borrowing, but more usually lending, on the money market. Investments are made for up to a month with: 

• public authorities
• banks
• building societies

Money will be invested for longer if it is not needed short term. 

We have accounts with three banks. Our investments are spread across a range of financial institutions with the highest credit ratings. We employ a treasury consultant to advise on investments. Individual in-house investments are limited to £3m in clearing banks and the largest building societies.