About the Trust Company

Trust Company Overview

The Management Team | Advisory Boards

The Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company (the "Trust Company") was created by the Legislature as a special purpose entity to efficiently and economically manage, invest and safeguard funds for its clients: the state and various subdivisions. The Trust Company is first and foremost a fiduciary organization. As such, it is held to the highest standard of care imposed in either law or equity and obligated to subordinate its own interests to those of its beneficiaries.

Mission Statement

The Trust Company's mission is to preserve and grow the state's financial resources by competitively managing and investing them in a prudent, ethical, innovative and cost-effective manner while focusing on client needs.

Investment Management

The Trust Company invests, manages, and oversees approximately $125 billion in assets. Investments include cash-equivalent funds such as the Texas Treasury Pool and separately managed portfolios for various Texas state agency clients. The Trust Company oversees the state's two largest local government investment pools: TexPool and TexPool Prime. Moreover, the Trust Company manages eleven separate endowment funds with assets totaling approximately $5 billion. The endowment portfolios are invested across a broad spectrum of asset classes, ranging from traditional fixed-income and long-only equity investments to hedge funds, private equity, private debt, and real estate. The SWIFT portfolio is invested across a broad spectrum of assets as well, ranging from traditional fixed-income and long-only equity investments to hedge funds, private debt, and real estate. The TESTIF portfolio is invested in cash-equivalents as well as traditional and alternative fixed-income.

Investment management is a specialized and highly competitive discipline. The Trust Company investment staff possesses skills in the areas of statistical analysis, economics, portfolio management, trading, portfolio transition management, risk management, and accounting. Staff develops and advances innovative investment solutions for the benefit of its clients.

Trading, Trust, Settlement and Custody

Through its Trading Desk and Settlement & Custody Services, the Trust Company acts as broker and custodian for marketable securities and mutual funds held by the Comptroller's Unclaimed Property Division. Custody and trading services are provided for certain other state agencies that may own marketable securities. For state agencies that issue debt, the Trust Company provides escrow services related to the retirement (defeasance) of bonds. The Trust Company also serves as the depository for newly-issued bonds and performs the complex accounting functions associated with investing bond proceeds in Guaranteed Investment Contracts (GICs).

Federal Reserve Membership and the Depository Trust Company

Texas has been granted a direct account with the Federal Reserve (the "Fed") and the Depository Trust Company ("DTC"). The Trust Company is allowed to maintain custody of assets at the Fed and DTC and to wire funds for limited purposes related to its business. Direct access to the Fed and DTC saves the state millions in fees that would otherwise be paid to commercial banks for these services. The Trust Company is not, however, allowed to compete with commercial banks.

Unique Entity Created by the Texas Legislature

Reference: Texas Government Code Sec. 404.101 - 404.116

The industry-specific legal, analytical, management, investment, accounting, and reporting skills required to meet the Trust Company's business needs are highly specialized and unique within state government. Its exposure to legal liability with the Fed and DTC sets it apart as well. The services provided by the Trust Company exist within a highly competitive and dynamic industry. The Trust Company was given the flexibility by the Legislature to meet private sector challenges in a public sector setting.

The Trust Company is incorporated and established as a separate, stand-alone organization with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts as its sole shareholder and director. The Comptroller appoints a Trust Company CEO and delegates authority to the CEO and Trust Company staff to manage the organization.

 

The Management Team

Comptroller Glenn Hegar
Chairman

Elected by the people of Texas in 2014, Glenn Hegar serves as the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The Comptroller is the chief steward of the state's finances, acting as tax collector, chief accountant, chief revenue estimator and chief treasurer for all of state government.

Mike Reissig
Chief Executive Officer

Mike Reissig is the Chief Executive Officer of the Comptroller’s Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company. Mike most recently served as Senior Advisor to Comptroller Glenn Hegar, and also served Comptroller Hegar as Deputy Comptroller of Public Accounts from 2015 to 2018. Mike is also the current Immediate-Past President of the Federation of Tax Administrators’ Board of Trustees.

Mike is also a recipient of the Texas State Agency Business Administrators Association’s Administrator of the Year award.

Prior to becoming Deputy Comptroller, Mike held the following positions at the Comptroller’s office: Associate Deputy Comptroller for Tax and Fiscal Policy, Director of Tax Administration, Director of Fiscal Management and Chief Revenue Estimator.

During the 1991 and 1993 sessions, Mike also worked at the Texas Legislature out of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Mike’s academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in finance with honors from Texas Lutheran College, a master’s degree in business administration from Southwest Texas State University and a degree in accounting.

Anca Ion
Chief Investment Officer

Ms. Ion is responsible for oversight of all investments – both internal and external – at the Trust Company, which includes investment of the State Treasury Pool and separately managed investment portfolios for various state agencies, as well as 11 separate accounts in the endowment pool.

Anca joined the Trust Company in 2005 as an investment analyst and has steadily risen through the organization over the past 16 years, serving in a variety of roles including portfolio manager (2009) for structured fixed income investments ABS, MBS, CMBS; deputy director of Internal Investments (2014); head of Internal Investments (2019) in charge of development and implementation of Treasury Pool investment strategy; and deputy CIO and member of the investment committee (2020). She holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and she is a current board member of the CFA Society of Austin. Anca is also a board member of Texas Wall Street Women.

Ion holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania. She was a member of the Investment Management Executive Education Program at Harvard University, CFA Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2015.

Genoveva (Gena) Minjares
Chief Financial Officer

Ms. Minjares joined the accounting division of the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company in 2002. During her tenure she has served in multiple roles including, Director of General Ledger Accounting and Deputy Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Ms. Minjares directs all client, accounting and financial operations including trust services, financial accounting and reporting, investments accounting, custody & settlement operations, unclaimed property, operational due diligence and strategy & planning.

Ms. Minjares began her accounting career with the local public accounting firm Maxwell, Locke & Ritter, pc, providing attestation, tax planning and tax compliance services to closely-held businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations. She also worked as Chief Accountant with a private start-up manufacturing firm in Austin before transitioning to public service with the State. She is a graduate of the Texas Fiscal Officers Academy, a member of the 2010 Class of Leadership Texas, has held various board positions with Executive Women in Texas Government and is a Comptroller appointee to the State Policy Committee of the State Employee Charitable Campaign.

Ms. Minjares is a Certified Public Accountant and holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Ethics from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Government Finance Officers Association.

Whitney Blanton
General Counsel

Mr. Blanton joined the Trust Company’s legal team in 2014 where he started as Assistant General Counsel. Now as General Counsel, Mr. Blanton directs all legal operations, providing a wide variety of legal services relating to contract negotiations, private markets transactions, company policies and procedures, and public records laws.

Prior to starting at the Trust Company, Mr. Blanton served as the Special Counsel to the Deputy Comptroller of the State of Texas from 2008 – 2014 where he advised the Deputy Comptroller and Comptroller on a variety of legal issues and served on multiple boards and commissions. From 2006 to 2008 he worked as Assistant General Counsel for tax collection and enforcement matters at the Comptroller’s office and also served as an Administrative Hearings Examiner. Mr. Blanton has also worked for multiple fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Blanton graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1998. He received a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio in 2005.

Laura Montoya
Chief Operating Officer

Ms. Montoya joined the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company in August 2004. As Chief Operating Officer, she directs the operations of the Trust Company, which includes oversight of human resource management, information technology, administrative functions, purchasing and travel. Additionally, she collaborates in the development of the strategic plan for the organization.

Prior to joining the Trust Company, Ms. Montoya’s financial background included Managing Director of Palladium Capital Management in Houston, Texas, and three years as a Business Analyst in London, England. She also has a decade of experience in writing and editing at Herring Design in Houston, Texas.

Laura Montoya is a Certified Professional in Human Resource Management through both the SHRM and HRCI organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in English Literature and Writing from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland.

Organizational Chart (In pdf format, get reader here.)

 

Advisory Boards