Investing Public Funds, second edition: covering a decade of change.

• Position: Government Finance Officers Assn's book

When the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) released the original edition of Investing Public Funds in 1986, it was the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the public-sector investment function. Today there are many publications on the market that deal with the investment of public funds, but GFOA's remains the premier text on the subject. Author Girard Miller viewed the world of public investing as unique and challenging and created a text to help public investment officials deal with the complexities of investing public funds. His treatment of the subject resulted in an invaluable tool for state and local governments; much of the original material is still relevant and the book continues to be used by many public officials.

Since its first appearance in 1986, Investing Public Funds has been reprinted four times. More than 7,500 copies of it have been purchased for use in professional development seminars, as an on-the-job reference, and for college and graduate level studies. With each passing year, however, the original examples and tables began to become outdated, and the evolving industry continued to upgrade the products and tools described in several chapters. Although the fundamentals remain unchanged, the book could no longer serve as a contemporary field guide for the profession.

When the GFOA began in 1997 to revise Investing Public Funds, the intent was not to rewrite the original, but rather to update examples, incorporate changes in the financial markets, recognize best practices, and fine-tune sections that have changed over the past decade. Indeed, the past decade has undergone tremendous changes in the financial markets and advances in technology have revolutionized the business world. Interest rates were at historic highs when this text was originally written. Since that time, interest rates fell to historic lows in the mid-1990s. Inflation and unemployment rates now are at historic lows, and the stock market has continued to set record highs. Financial markets have become increasingly volatile, and the rapid development of new markets and securities has continued at astonishing rates. Financial institutions failed at alarming rates in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Unprecedented mergers and acquisitions followed, changing the nature of the banking industry. Distinctions among financial institutions and other investment service providers are becoming increasingly blurred, presenting new challenges...