Cole Road Co-operative Community Inc. By-Law 2015.04

2.1 The Co-op has funds other than the monies it needs for current operations. These funds include the capital reserve fund, member deposits and retained earnings. The Co-op wants to invest these funds for the purpose of

• maintaining and preserving its homes and other property;
• providing for future financial contingencies.
  

1. “Housing Services Act” means the Ontario Housing Services Act 2011 (HSA), including all amendments to bring it up to date.
2. “Housing Services Corporation” means the Housing Services Corporation (HSC) that was set up under the HSA to manage capital reserve investments, co-ordinate insurance programs, deliver bulk-buying programs and put in place a system for sharing best practices.
3. “SHSC Financial” means the SHSC Financial Inc., a company set up by the Housing Services Corporation to oversee its investment program.
4. “Capital plan” is a plan for the replacement of the capital items, such as appliances, flooring, roofs and windows, that includes
   • a study of the condition of the buildings with a schedule of when the replacements will be needed (a building condition assessment)
   • a forecast of the annual funding requirements for the capital reserve (reserve fund forecast).
5. “Capital reserve fund” is the money that a co-op puts in a separate fund to replace or make major repairs to capital items such as roofs, furnaces, stoves, refrigerators, carpets and plumbing. The money in the capital reserve fund comes from the annual or monthly transfer from the Co-op’s operating budget and any additional lump sum contributions that the Co-op may make.
6. “Investment allocation” means the proportion of funds invested in different types of investments.
7. “Investment risk” means the risk that some of the value of the principal could be lost through changes in the value of the investment.
8. “Member deposits” means the amount of money the Co-op holds for each member household while that household lives in the Co-op.
9. “Principal” means a sum of money placed in an investment to earn investment income.
10. “Retained earnings” means the accumulation of annual surpluses less annual losses over the life of the Co-op.
11. “Rate of return” means the annual amount of income from an investment, expressed as a percentage of the principal.

1. review this by-law from time to time and propose amendments as required
2. invest and deposit funds according to this by-law
3. review the Co-op’s investments when the by-law is adopted and make any changes necessary to follow it
4. monitor investment results
5. report to the members about the investments at the Co-op’s annual meeting.
   

1. to achieve the best possible rate of return while keeping investment risk to an acceptable level;
2. to ensure that the Co-op has sufficient money to maintain its property.
   

1. securities of mutual or investment funds managed or offered by the SHSC Financial;
2. other investments required or permitted by the Housing Services Corporation.
   

1. bank or credit union deposits;
2. government bonds, treasury bills or other securities backed by a level of government in Canada or by a crown corporation or agency;
3. securities of mutual or investment funds managed or offered by SHSC Financial.

The board will decide how to allocate capital reserve and other funds among the investment alternatives based on

1. the Co-op’s requirements for cash over the short and long term;
2. the need to diversify (choose a mix of) investments to balance investment risk against rate of return;
3. the advice of SHSC Financial portfolio adviser and any external investment manager hired by the Co-op.