1968

Atlantic Richfield pumps oil from exploratory well at Prudhoe. Recoverable reserves of oil estimated at 9.6 billion barrels. State budget exceeds $100 million for the first time. The population of Alaska is just under 300,000.

1969

September 10. Prudhoe Bay lease sale provides $900 million in lease bonuses to the State Treasury.

1970

New revenues lead to the creation of many new state programs including the Student Loan and the Longevity Bonus programs.

First bill to establish a Permanent Fund introduced in the Legislature.

Alaska's population is 295,000.

1973

U.S. Congress passes the Trans Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act.

War in the Middle East in October causes oil prices to rise from $3 to $16 per barrel.

1974

Construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline begins. Construction lasts 39 months, costs $8 billion including the Marine Terminal in Valdez.

1975

First Permanent Fund bill passes the Legislature. Governor Hammond vetoes it and urges establishment of the Permanent Fund by amendment to the state constitution.

1976

In November, Alaska voters, by a margin of 75,588 to 38,518, approve constitutional amendment establishing the Alaska Permanent Fund.

1977

February 28. The Permanent Fund receives first deposit of dedicated oil revenues amounting to $734,000.

August 1. Oil tanker departs Valdez with first shipment of Prudhoe Bay oil.

Four years of debate begins about whether the Permanent Fund should be managed as a public trust or as an economic development bank. In 1980, the fund is established as a public trust.

1980

The Alaska Legislature: (1) creates the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation; (2) makes a special appropriation of $900 million to the Permanent Fund; (3) increases the Permanent Fund's share of oil royalties from 25 percent to 50 percent for fields leased after 1979; and (4) approves the first Permanent Fund dividend program. (the U.S. Supreme Court later rules this program unconstitutional.)

January 22. One billionth barrel of oil passes through the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

Elmer Rasmuson is elected as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Permanent Fund Corporation.

1981

Alaska Legislature approves its second special appropriation to the Permanent Fund, this time for $1.8 billion. Rep. Oral Freeman sponsored the first two special appropriations to the Permanent Fund.

1982

The Alaska Legislature, at the request of the Board of Trustees, enacts inflation-proofing to protect the purchasing power of Permanent Fund principal. The Legislature has inflation-proofed the fund each year since.

Dave Rose becomes the Fund's first executive director.

Trustees are authorized by the legislature to begin investing a portion of the fund in U.S. common stocks and equity real estate.

First Permanent Fund dividend check is distributed. It amounts to $1,000.

1983

July 6. The Permanent Fund makes its first investment in the stock market. On that date, the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index closed at 168.48.

October. The Permanent Fund makes its first investment in equity real estate.

1989

Assets of the Permanent Fund reach $10 billion.

The Alaska Legislature grants the Trustees authority to invest a portion of the Permanent Fund in non-U.S. securities.

7 billionth barrel of oil passes through the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

1990

April. Permanent Fund makes its first non-U.S. dollar denominated investment - in Canadian Government Treasury Bills.

November. Permanent Fund begins investing in stock markets outside the U.S.

1991

January 1. 8 billionth barrel of oil arrives in Valdez.

1991 - 2000, the Permanent Fund earned at least $1 billion in net income each year.

$435 million of dedicated oil revenues are deposited in the Permanent Fund - the largest amount ever.

1993

The market value of fund assets reach $15 billion.

1994

The fund total return is 1.5 percent this year.

1995

The Permanent Fund dividend of $990.30 is distributed to 542,000 eligible Alaska residents.

The fund's investments in stocks reach $7 billion. By June 30, the Fund owned shares of stock in 1,419 companies in 33 countries located around the world.

1997

Surging stock markets drive fund performance to all-time levels as the fund grows to more than $22 billion. In a special forum, Alaskans around the state begin discussing the fund's future.

The Legislature appropriates another $803 million to the fund's principal.

1998

For the first time ever, the fund's earnings exceed state oil revenues as the fund reaches the $25 billion mark.

The S&P 500 ended the year at 1,133.84, while the 12 billionth barrel of North Slope Oil reached the terminal at Valdez.

1999

The fund exceeds $26 billion and makes its first investment in emerging markets. The Legislature increases fund's investment flexibility to allow up to 5 percent of the fund's value to be invested in alternative investments.

2000

The fund's equity allocation increases from 48 percent to 53 percent. Fund reaches a high to date of $28.4 billion. Equity markets peak. In March, the bear market begins. Permanent Fund dividend reaches all-time high (and the high for years to come) at $1,963.86.

2001

The Permanent Fund celebrates its 25th anniversary and has its first-ever negative return, -3.3 percent, for a fiscal year.

At the request of the Board of Trustees, legislation is proposed which would place before Alaska voters a constitutional amendment to limit spending from the Fund to 5 percent of its total market value. Called POMV for short, this concept would inherently inflation-proof the total fund and make payouts more stable.

2002

The bear market continues. Fund has a return of -2.2 percent for the fiscal year.

2003

March marks three years since the equity markets peaked. The S&P 500 is down 40.9 percent over this three-year period.

2004

Fund adds two new asset classes: private equities and absolute return strategies.

2005

As a guideline for fund investments, the Legislature replaces the former system of having a list of allowable investments combined with the Prudent Investor Rule to allowing APFC Trustees to solely follow the Prudent Investor Rule. This is a major step, allowing APFC Trustees much more lattitude in the kinds of investments they make and how much of each investment type they hold. The latitude is limited by the tenants of the Prudent Investor Rule, however. This rule states that the board "shall exercise the judgement and care under the circumstances then prevailing that an institutional investor of ordinary prudence, discretion and intelligence exercises in the management of large investments entrusted to it not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of funds, considering probable safety of capital as well as probable income."