Why and how cities like Denver and Aurora invest your tax dollars in the stock market

DENVER — It’s finally safe to look at that 401K again. When markets open on Thursday, they’re projected continue an impressive run that has seen steady gains over the last month.

The increases follow a sharp market downturn in early April that saw markets lose trillions of dollars after President Trump first announced his tariff policies.

The market run makes investors happy, but it also makes municipal financial departments happy.

That’s because cities like Aurora and Denver invest your tax dollars to bolster reserves and pay for programs and projects.

Denver7 was able to get its hands on the City of Aurora’s quarterly investment report for May. It shows the city has more than $800 million in tax-funded investments. Most of that money is tied up in treasury securities and government agencies.

The city’s treasurer, Theresa Sedmak, sat down with Denver7 for an interview on its investments and said her department puts money in those securities because of its lower risk profile.

Colorado law permits governments to invest like its citizens but there are guardrails: bonds must carry a certain credit rating and higher risk securities are not allowed. Also, investments that take longer than five years to mature require certain authorizations.

Aurora’s portfolio shows an annual return of 4.24% on all its investments excluding cash, which is performing slightly above the average return on a two-year treasury note.

Public records also show Denver and Aurora both invest in Toyota Motors. Its the largest holding of any single company in each of its portfolios.

Aurora also invests more than $1 million in the pharmaceutical company Eli Lily.