Purpose
The Investor Confidence Rating (ICR) is a rating of an agency’s investment management environment. It is an indicator of the confidence that investors (eg, Cabinet, relevant portfolio Ministers, or Government Investment Ministers) have in an agency’s capacity and capability to realise a promised investment result if funding were committed.
The main purpose is to provide an incentive mechanism that rewards good investment management performance and proactively addresses gaps in investment management performance. Over time the ICR is expected to improve key aspects of investment management maturity and investment performance as a means of delivering best value for money.
Impact
The ICR may affect each agency or sector in one or more ways, including (for departments) access to balance sheet resources, and levels of authority to make investment decisions, and (for all agencies) levels of investment-related reporting and assurance activity. The ICR may also affect the level of corporate centre scrutiny of, or assistance to, each agency.
Operation
The rating cycle is three yearly. The Treasury administers the ICR, and assessments of each element are undertaken by either the corporate centre or independent parties, based on these indicative timings and steps in an ICR assessment (for agency planning purposes).
Between formal assessments, there will be a discussion with the agency to understand the progress being made towards improving key aspects of its investment performance.
The ICR consists of five lead and four lag indicators. Each is given a weighting according to its relative importance.
For further information on ICR indicators, please see the following pages:
Guidance
- Guidance on the Investor Confidence Rating: Overview based on the requirements in Cabinet Office Circular CO (15) 5: Investment Management and Asset Performance in the State Services
- Guidance on the ICR: Assessment and Moderation
- Operating the ICR Outlook Discussion - Guidance for Investment-intensive Agencies