ORANGE : City Studies Hiring Investment Adviser

Hit twice by financial crises in the past five years, city officials are considering hiring a full-time investment adviser to watch over municipal funds.

City Council members also will consider at their meeting today whether to hire an interim adviser until the new position can be posted and filled. The city now has about $120 million in its investment portfolio.

The city, which had about $28 million in the county investment pool when it collapsed last year, has not recovered all of its money. And two years earlier the city lost $7.2 million in an investment fraud by Newport Beach financier Steven D. Wymer.

Acting City Manager David L. Rudat said an interim adviser can probably be found in about three weeks, while a permanent adviser could be hired in about three months.