§8-22-11. Investment of funds.

The board shall keep as an available sum for the purpose of making retirement, disability and death payments and administration expense an amount estimated to meet such payments for a period not to exceed ninety days. The board in acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, retaining, selling and managing property for the benefit of the fund shall exercise judgment and care which persons of experience, prudence, discretion and intelligence exercise in the management of financial affairs, considering the probable income as well as the probable security of the investment and with regard to the permanent disposition of the fund. Within the limitations of the foregoing standard, the board is authorized in its sole discretion to invest and reinvest any funds received by it in the following:

(1) Any direct obligation of, or obligation guaranteed as to the payment of both principal and interest by, the United States of America;

(2) Any evidence of indebtedness issued by any United States government agency guaranteed as to the payment of both principal and interest, directly or indirectly, by the United States of America including, but not limited to, the following: Government national mortgage association, federal land banks, federal home loan banks, federal intermediate credit banks, banks for cooperatives, Tennessee valley authority, United States postal service, farmers home administration, export-import bank, federal financing bank, federal home loan mortgage corporation, student loan marketing association and federal farm credit banks;

(3) Any evidence of indebtedness issued by the federal national mortgage association to the extent such indebtedness is guaranteed by the government national mortgage association;

(4) Any evidence of indebtedness that is secured by a first lien deed of trust or mortgage upon real property situate within this state, if the payment thereof is substantially insured or guaranteed by the United States of America or any agency thereof;

(5) Direct and general obligations of this state;

(6) Any undivided interest in a trust, the corpus of which is restricted to mortgages on real property and, unless all of such property is situate within the state and insured, such trust at the time of the acquisition of such undivided interest, is rated in one of the three highest rating grades by an agency which is nationally known in the field of rating pooled mortgage trusts;

(7) Any bond, note, debenture, commercial paper or other evidence of indebtedness of any private corporation or association: Provided, That any such security is, at the time of its acquisition, rated in one of the three highest rating grades by an agency which is nationally known in the field of rating corporate securities: Provided, however, That if any commercial paper or any such security will mature within one year from the date of its issuance, it shall, at the time of its acquisition, be rated in one of the two highest rating grades by any such nationally known agency and commercial paper or other evidence of indebtedness of any private corporation or association shall be purchased only upon the written recommendation from an investment advisor that has over $300 million in other funds under its management;

(8) Negotiable certificates of deposit issued by any bank, trust company, national banking association or savings institution which mature in less than one year and are fully collateralized;

(9) Interest earning deposits including certificates of deposit, with any duly designated state depository, which deposits are fully secured by a collaterally secured bond as provided in section four, article one, chapter twelve of this code; and

(10) Mutual funds registered with the securities and exchange commission which have assets in excess of $300 million.