The Virginia Investment Pool (VIP) was established in 2013 by local Treasurers and Investment Officers through the sponsorship of the Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Municipal League. The impetus behind the creation of VIP was to develop an investment vehicle in which local governments could jointly invest to prudently achieve higher earnings on operating and reserve funds. VIP enables local governments to take advantage of the full range of investments authorized in the Code of Virginia with the guidance of a professional fund manager.
Participants own and control VIP, which is a governmental trust under Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code. Established through the Joint Exercise of Powers provisions of the State Code, governments and authorities elect to participate in VIP by adopting an ordinance or resolution. In localities with elected Treasurers, Treasurers are empowered by state law to participate in VIP without the ordinance/resolution requirement. Jointly-administered investment pools, such as VIP, are now recognized as an allowable investment in the Investment of Public Funds Act by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly in 2017.