Fixed Income Investment Services (Amendment 2)

AMENDMENT 3: The proposal due time has been changed from 9:00 a.m. ET to 12:00 p.m. ET. The due date remains unchanged.

AMENDMENT 2: PBGC has reopened and amended this solicitation to ensure sufficient competition for Phase 2. PBGC encourages all offerors (including those that already submitted a proposal in December) to review this amendment carefully to ensure understanding and compliance.

PBGC has changed three (3) documents under this amendment:

1. Attachment 1 – Instructions to Offerors, which contains updated cover letter requirements and eliminates information that is no longer applicable;
    
2. Attachment 2 – Evaluation Criteria, which narrows the scope of evaluation under Factor 1 – Proposal Compliance; and
    
3. Attachment 6 – Solicitation Phase 1 Forms, which contains examples of Information Ratio (IR) calculations to ensure offerors complete this portion of their proposals fully and accurately.

All changes to these documents under this amendment appear as track changes or in red font. All changes under the prior amendment (Amendment 1) are accepted, so they will no longer appear as track changes or in red font.

PBGC has not altered any documents under Amendment 2 outside of Attachments 1, 2, and 6.

Firms that wish to submit a proposal for the first time under this solicitation must submit all required documents by the deadline.

Firms that already submitted a proposal in December should take the following steps:

1. Review the solicitation changes discussed above.
    
2. Review the details of your proposal to ensure that your firm has fully complied with both previously existing and new solicitation requirements (e.g., included all required cover letter information, submitted all requested forms and supporting information, and calculated IRs accurately).
    
3. Review the contents of your original proposal transmission (i.e., either the email or LeapFILE transmission) to ensure your firm actually submitted the information it intended to submit.
    
4. If your firm does not wish to change its proposal, then do nothing. PBGC will evaluate your firm’s December submission as originally submitted.
    
5. If your firm does wish to change its proposal, then:

• Resubmit all documents (including those that are unchanged) by the deadline stated in this announcement. (Exception: The Mercer NDA. Executed Mercer NDAs remain in full effect.)
   
• Your submission must include an updated cover letter that identifies the specific changes to the initial proposal. (PBGC will update its existing evaluations only with the information that the offeror has identified as changed; it will not reevaluate contents that the offeror has not identified as changed.)
   
• Submit the proposal to both PBGC points of contact identified in this announcement using LeapFILE or email.

PBGC does not intend to respond to questions or comments received in response to this amendment.

AMENDMENT 1: PBGC responses to industry questions received by the deadline are now included under Attachment 11. Furthermore, Attachments 5, 6, 7, and 8 have been amended. The changes for Attachments 5, 6, and 7 are captured as track changes, and the changes for Attachment 8 are captured in red font. 

Please note that Attachments 10 and 11 are provided for informational purposes only. In the event of conflict or inconsistency between the information provided in these attachments and the information provided in Attachments 1 - 9, the information in Attachments 1 - 9 will control. 

Overview:

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial products or commercial services prepared in accordance with FAR part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Offers are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued.

Solicitation number 16PBGC25R0062 is issued as a request for proposals (RFP) for fixed income investment services that provide a total rate of return that exceeds the benchmarks of their respective portfolios over a full market cycle, consistent with appropriate levels of risk. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-06.

This acquisition is open to all capable firms registered to do business with the U.S. Government.

NOTE: Offerors must be fully registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at the time that they submit Volume 3 – Price Proposal. PBGC will stop evaluating proposals from any offerors not fully registered in SAM at that point and remove those offerors from further consideration for award. 

Solicitation Phases:

This is Phase 1 of the solicitation. Offerors who pass Phase 1 will receive an invitation from PBGC to continue to Phase 2. Offerors who do not pass Phase 1 will receive notification from PBGC that their proposals have been eliminated from further competition.

Attachment Table of Contents

For offeror awareness and planning purposes, PBGC is including all attachments applicable to this solicitation with this announcement, including those that only apply to Phase 2. For additional clarity, PBGC will briefly describe the purpose and applicability of the attachments here.

ATTACHMENT 1 – INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS: Applies to both Phases 1 and 2. Offerors must follow these instructions in addition to those found under provision 52.212-1.

ATTACHMENT 2 – EVALUATION CRITERIA: Applies to both Phases 1 and 2. Describes how PBGC will evaluate proposals under each phase and choose the awardees.

ATTACHMENT 3 – STATEMENT OF WORK: For offeror awareness and understanding of basic work expectations applicable to all awarded contracts. Will be incorporated into contracts.

ATTACHMENT 4 – FIXED INCOME PRICING TEMPLATE: Applies to Phase 2 only. Offerors must use this template to communicate their proposed rates to PBGC.

ATTACHMENT 5 – CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS: Applies to both Phases 1 and 2. Clauses will be incorporated into contracts; provisions will not.

ATTACHMENT 6 – SOLICITATION PHASE 1 FORMS: Applies to Phase 1 only. Offerors must complete these forms as applicable and submit them with their Phase 1 proposals.

ATTACHMENT 7 – SOLICITATION PHASE 2 FORMS: Applies to Phase 2 only. Offerors must complete these forms and submit them with their Phase 2 proposals.

ATTACHMENT 8 – DATA TABLE TEMPLATES: Applies to both Phases 1 and 2. Use as instructed by Attachments 6 and 7.

ATTACHMENT 9 – MERCER NDA FORM: Applies to Phase 1 and remains effective through Phase 2. Offerors who intend to participate under this solicitation and who deem their proposal data to be sensitive or confidential must execute this document and submit it to contact@example.gov **as soon as possible, but no later than the proposal due date**. (For offerors invited to participate in Phase 2, this NDA will continue to be in effect. A second NDA is not necessary.)

ATTACHMENT 10 – PBGC RESPONSES TO INDUSTRY FEEDBACK – DRAFT SOLICITATION: For offeror awareness only. Provides consolidated industry feedback and PBGC responses that occurred under the draft solicitation, which closed in September 2025. Offerors should review this document in full before submitting new questions under this solicitation.

ATTACHMENT 11 – INDUSTRY FEEDBACK FORM – OFFICIAL SOLICITATION: Applies to both Phases 1 and 2. If offerors have questions that are not addressed under Attachment 11, they must submit them using this form by the deadlines identified in Attachment 1.

Line Items:

0001 – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

1001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

2001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

3001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

4001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

5001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

6001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

7001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

8001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

9001 (Option) – Fixed Income Investment Services (One Year)

See Attachment 4 – Fixed Income Pricing Template for more information on pricing structure.

Description of Work: 

To facilitate the management of the Trust Fund assets, PBGC anticipates contracting with multiple investment firms (hereinafter referred to as contractors) capable of managing fixed income assets across multiple fixed income strategies consistent with a specific set of investment guidelines.

The contractor shall be responsible for providing active investment management and related services for fixed income portfolios. The investment objective is to construct portfolios of fixed income assets that earn superior returns which exceed the respective portfolio benchmarks of these strategies, consistent with the risk parameters outlined in the investment guidelines for the respective portfolios and be invested in one or more of the four Trust Fund Fixed income strategies listed in the statement of work. See Attachment 3 – Statement of Work for more information.

Date and Place of Delivery:

Services shall be delivered to PBGC Headquarters at 445 12st SW, Washington, DC 20024. Performance will occur over a period of up to 10 years.

Clauses and Provisions:

Provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition. Attachment 1 – Instructions to Offerors is an addendum to this provision.

Provision 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, does *not* apply to this acquisition; however, see Attachment 2 – Evaluation Criteria.

Provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, is included and must be completed as instructed by the provision.

Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition.

Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Products and Commercial Services, applies to this acquisition.

See Attachment 5 – Clauses and Provisions for additional information on applicable clauses and provisions. The full text of provisions and clauses incorporated by reference may be accessed electronically at www.acquisition.gov.