Allen Hoppe, the director of banking, investments and debt for the city of Minneapolis, retired on Friday after a long career in public finance.
"Mr. Hoppe brought to the City of Minneapolis four decades of strong experience in public finance and treasury services," Minneapolis CFO Dushani Dye said in an emailed statement.
"He is greatly appreciated for his deep analytical insights, principled approach to business planning and execution, and his challenging questions," she added.
"He will be deeply missed as a leader, colleague, and friend by the Finance and Property Services Department," Dye said.
"It was a joy to work for the largest city in Minnesota," Hoppe told The Bond Buyer. "I came out of college wanting to be a bond analyst… And the reason, way back then, was the analytical nature, the quantitative nature of bonds. And that's a part about bond stuff that I've always enjoyed, the analytical part."
A graduate of St. Cloud State University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in finance, and the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, where he received his MBA, Hoppe began his career as a muni bond analyst for Springsted Inc. after a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps.
He later worked as a portfolio performance analyst for Washington Square Capital, an independent investment systems consultant, and a senior treasury administrator for First Health before joining the St. Paul-based Metropolitan Council — the regional policymaking body, planning agency and essential services provider for the Twin Cities — as senior manager, treasury.
In 2015, Hoppe moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as treasurer of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. For over two years, he led a staff of 150 there, then moved back to the Twin Cities area in March 2017 to work as an independent consultant.
"Somewhere along the way, a friend of mine who works for the city gave me a heads-up about a part-time position which supported the Board of Estimate and Taxation, which officially grants the final approval for bond issuances for the city," Hoppe said.
In November 2019, he took a part-time role as a senior advisor with the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. That led to his most recent role, directing banking, merchant card services, securities investments and debt issuance for the city of Minneapolis.
Asked which aspects of his work for the city he enjoyed the most, Hoppe said, "The short answer is probably all of it."
Some highlights of his career included building the financing plan for Metro, the Twin Cities light rail system, while he worked at Met Council, and helping to rebuild the city's banking, investments and debt division, which was more than half-empty after retirements during COVID-19.
"The city is going to have to speak for itself," Hoppe said of the challenges triple-A rated Minneapolis faces in the future. "The opportunities and the problems that I'm aware of are out in the open already, whether it's housing issues or property taxes or sales tax revenue… It's in a good position, but there's no question, it's a pretty topsy-turvy world these days, with what's going on internationally and nationally, and that's rippling down to all communities."
But the city has "a good team in the finance area," and "the strong infrastructure is present for managing the situation," he said.
As he leaves his former division in good hands — Hoppe thanked Dye and praised Dave Wheeler, senior manager of banking, investments and debt, in
"Nobody wants to hear this, but I think a lot of us would say what you learn in college is really not even half of what you need to do," Hoppe said. He advised "being open minded, because I came out wanting to be a bond analyst, and that was kind of narrowly focused; and over time, I discovered it was better to be more flexible."
He also advised up-and-coming public finance professionals to be aware of their environment — "if you're going to be independent, you'd better be in an independent environment, and if you want to work in a large business or government, you can't be too isolated" — and to have a larger vision.
"A lot of people are focused on just, 'Okay, I've got to check this box and check that box, and I'm done,'" he said. "Well, usually opportunities and problems are more broad-based."
Public finance pros "need to be thinking about every situation that comes across their desks, and really not be asleep at the wheel, and not assume things are going fine, but keep your radar up all the time," he said.
Hoppe said he now hopes to devote more time to interests such as gardening and yard work, home repairs, personal portfolio management, investment education, travel, bicycling, skiing, camping and canoeing as well as golf.
"Life is short," he told The Bond Buyer. "I like to have fun and I like to keep busy… I do always like helping people. The Twin Cities American Association of Individual Investors… I'm hoping to give that a little more attention going forward.
"My career has been a rewarding life experience," he added by email. "Now, I'm reverting back to being a grade schooler with very few responsibilities and many recreational and community experiences to chase after."
