2. Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians
Executive Briefing Presented by
Jim James
Deputy Special Trustee – Field Operations
National Indian Tax Alliance
September 17, 2015
11/14/2018

3. Field Operations Our Mission
Serve as the primary point of contact for trust beneficiaries (Tribes, individual Indians, and Alaska Natives) seeking information and services in conjunction with their trust assets
11/14/2018

4. Field Operations What We Do
Maintain staff in 65 locations with 48 FTOs throughout Indian Country; manage the Trust Beneficiary Call Center
Invest approximately $5 Billion on behalf of Trust Beneficiaries and Tribes
Conduct outreach to locate Whereabouts Unknown beneficiaries
Respond to Cobell Trust administration class requests for information and account updates
Partner with stakeholders to secure the Trust
Support the DOI Land Buy Back Program
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5. Field Operations Twenty Years of Progress
Trust Beneficiary Call Center (TBCC)
Streamlining and Automation
Financial Education
Fiduciary Trust Officers/Beneficiary Service
TAAMS/TFAS Conversion
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6. Achievements
On July 4, 2015 the Trust Beneficiary Call Center was the first ever recipient of the Secretary of the Interior’s Initiative Customer Service Award.
The award was in recognition of the TBCC’s initiatives to improve customer service for
beneficiaries through:
Technology
Improvement in operations
Implementation of agency-
wide strategies
11/14/2018

7. Field Operations Our Priorities Probate reform
Continued streamlining and automation
Employee engagement
Safety and security of facilities
Investment compliance review
Maintain high level of beneficiary service
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8. Office of Trust Fund Investments
Office of Trust Funds Investments is responsible for:
Providing investment management of approximately $4 billion tribal trust funds and the $858 million IIM fund, in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and policies
Planning, developing, operating and controlling the buying, selling and trading of investment instruments
Providing technical advice and assistance on investment-related matters to Indian tribes, Fiduciary Trust Officers and OST senior management
11/14/2018

9. Office of Trust Fund Investments
Investment Resources
Investment Services and Resources
Portfolio review and management
Portfolio accounting
Portfolio analytics
Performance measurement systems
Formal compliance reviews
Bloomberg market information system
Access to primary and secondary dealers
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10. Office of Trust Fund Investments
How We Manage Accounts
25 U.S.C. 162a limits investments to U.S. Government fixed income securities
Treasury and agency fixed income securities
OST Investment policy
Investment strategy
Individual account needs
Communication with Tribal Leadership
Tribal Account Needs and Objectives
Liquidity: Focus on liquidity of funds for withdrawal with minimization of price risk
Income: Focus on generating consistent levels of current annual income
Long-Term: Focus on long term growth determined by income and potential price appreciation
11/14/2018

11. Pre-Reforms (1994) Today Today
Office of Trust Fund Investments
Pre-Reforms (1994) Today Today
Invested mostly in CDs and Treasuries
Decentralized custodians (e.g., U.S. Treasury, commercial banks, brokerage houses, Federal agencies) – limited delivery flexibility
Most securities not readily marketable (e.g., penalty to sell CDs, Treasuries purchased/sold only through Treasury)
No formal investment review process
Limited security and maturity selection
Limited tribal investment meetings
Invest mostly in Agency securities
Centralized custodian – increased delivery flexibility
Securities can readily be sold if needed
Formal investment policy
Regular reviews by Investment Management Committee
Increased portfolio flexibility from broader security and maturity selections
More complete tribal investment meetings and reviews
Regular interaction/communication with Tribes
11/14/2018

12. Trust Beneficiary Call Center (TBCC)
As of 6/30/15, the TBCC:
Answered 65,720 calls during the 3rd Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015 (49,719 total calls answered during 2nd Quarter FY 2015)
Obtained overall first-line resolution (FLR) rate of 96% since outperforming both the industry average of 49% and OST’s performance target of 85% (FLR means the person answering the call resolved the inquiry without referral or escalation)
Obtained FLR rate of 98% for the period from 4/1/2015 through 6/30/2015
Recorded calls coming into the TBCC for quality assurance purposes
Completed 100% of requested call-backs; 385 call-backs in 3rd Quarter FY 2015 (393 call-backs during 2nd Quarter FY 2015)
Utilized an automated tracking system that ensures consistent, accurate responses and resolutions
11/14/2018

13. TBCC – Whereabouts Unknown
As of 6/30/2015:
TFAS reflected that there were 63,867 beneficiaries whose whereabouts were unknown
The value of these accounts was more than $110.2 million.
Located 3,041 account holders in 3rd Quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) Total of 3,209 were located during 2nd Quarter FY 2015.
Disbursed $6 million in 3rd Quarter of FY Total of $8.2 million was disbursed during 2nd Quarter FY 2015.
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14. Response to Cobell Trust Administration Class Request for Information and Account Updates
Cobell Settlement claims administrator Garden City Group, began payments to the Trust Administration Class on September 15, 2014.
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15. Response to Cobell Trust Administration Class Request for Information and Account Updates (Cont’d)
Between 9/15/2014 and 6/30/15, OST Field Operations documented 21,139 beneficiary contacts (16,153 at TBCC and 4,986 at Agencies), concerning Cobell Settlement Stage 2.
During 3rd Quarter FY 2015, 49% of the Cobell Stage 2 inquiries continue to be from individuals who did not have IIM accounts.
Generally, the calls from individuals without an IIM account were actually referrals to the TBCC by the Claims Administrator (GCG) call center . CGC instructed these individuals to contact the TBCC to locate an IIM account number.
During the last Quarter of FY ‘15, the TBCC staff increased to 36 staff working in the call queue, to handle the higher volume.
11/14/2018

16. DOI Land Buyback Program Support
The Trust Beneficiary Call Center (TBCC), serves as the primary point of contact for responding to Landowner inquiries about the Buy Back Program (BBP), and providing assistance with completing the Purchase Offer Packages sent to Landowners.
During the 3rd Quarter of FY ’15, the TBCC responded to 22,866 BBP inquiries. (6,821 BBP inquiries were received during the 2nd Quarter of FY ‘15).
Field Operations Agency offices support the BBP with conducting outreach events and assisting landowners with completing purchase offer packages.
During the 3rd Quarter of FY ’15, the Field Operations Agency offices responded to 3,241 Landowner inquiries. (1,955 Agency inquiries were handled during 2nd Quarter of FY ‘15).
During the 2nd Quarter of FY ‘15, Field Operations Agency staff attended 61 BBP outreach events.
During the 1st Quarter of FY ‘15 Field Operations hired four staff to specifically assist with BBP outreach.
11/14/2018

17. Deputy Special Trustee
Questions?
For More Information Please Contact:
Jim James
Deputy Special Trustee
Field Operations
(505)

18. Thank you!