[members-discuss] [news] 167th RIPE NCC Executive Board Meeting - Summary Notes

Dear Kaj, 

Thank you for your mail and apologies for the delay in our response due to summer vacation.

The main objective of our outsourced portfolio management is to minimise risk by preserving the principal amount at the best possible return. Our return target is the 12-month EURIBOR plus 50 basis points, with limited volatility. The management fee is 0.5% per annum of the managed portfolio, plus any associated transaction fees. The expected result will depend on the 12-month EURIBOR, portfolio size, and number of transactions. This is outlined in our recently-published treasury statute: 
https://www.ripe.net/about-us/legal/corporate-governance/treasury-statute   

It is important to be clear that our goal isn’t necessarily to beat inflation. We aim to maximise our return within a conservative risk profile. If this partly offsets or outpaces inflation, then we will have significantly improved our situation compared to the past. Considering that all funds held by the RIPE NCC are membership funds, both we and our board agree that maintaining a conservative approach is the correct strategy. Our approach will be reviewed with the board on a yearly basis and can always be updated if necessary.

In terms of our costs and budget, the message from the last GM was received loud and clear. We are currently working to spend less than the approved budget for 2023 and present an Activity Plan and Budget that fits within the boundaries of the 2024 Charging Scheme that the membership has approved. At the same time, we need to make sure we can: 

- Maintain high service levels (and continue to improve them)
- Retain and attract talent
- Cope with reduced income from:
     - The consolidation of LIR accounts
     - Inability to collect fees from members in ‘Ultra High Risk’ countries that our banks do not want to receive money from
     - Other revenue at risk due to conflicts in our service region
- Absorb the impacts of continued high inflation

A budget which reduces year-on-year over multiple years is challenging if we assume that the membership values all of the services we provide. This is something the results from our recent survey appear to support (we will present the results of the survey at RIPE 87). It is therefore not our intent at this stage to reduce or discontinue any activities since, as a membership organisation, we provide services to all members, and each individual member values our different services in their own manner. 

Even if we were to freeze our operations as they are currently, costs would inevitably increase over time due to inflation. There may also be unexpected events, such as urgent legal, regulatory, or political threats that require us to respond and drive up costs as a result. The sudden influx of potential sanctions cases in 2022 that required investigation by our staff is one recent example of this. Requests also come from the RIPE community that fall within our secretariat role, and these will often have a cost attached. With all of this in mind, we cannot rule out increasing membership fees in the future.  

As a not-for-profit association funded by membership fees and operating on a cost-recovery basis, there is only an indirect link between services provided and income generated. Higher service levels could potentially attract additional members, but after the IPv4 runout, we see a stable membership with a decline in LIRs. This leaves us to look for efficiency gains in terms of reducing our costs or ending or scaling back some services. Ending services will mean laying off staff and terminating existing contracts which will incur transition costs in the short term. This is not something we are planning at this stage, though we are committed to serving our membership while maintaining the health of the RIPE NCC as an association. 

We will continue to work closely with the Executive Board regarding our 2024 Activity Plan and Budget and 2025 Charging Scheme. As always, we will ensure that the membership has ample opportunity to provide feedback on our proposed plans before they are approved by the Executive Board in December.

Kind Regards,

Hans Petter Holen
Managing Director and CEO
RIPE NCC