Origins

Four years after passing a constitutional amendment to create a Permanent Fund, in 1980 the Alaska State Legislature created the APFC. Prior to 1980, the Department of Revenue Treasury Division managed the state's Permanent Fund assets.

Board and staff

A six-member, governor-appointed Board of Trustees oversees the APFC. One seat is statutorily assigned to the Commissioner of Revenue. The governor selects one additional cabinet member to sit on the Board. Four public members fill the remaining seats, which have staggered four-year terms. The board appoints an executive director, who manages a staff of 32. The board meets around six times each year, with its annual meeting held the third week of each September. Meetings are held at the APFC's Juneau office, in Fairbanks and in Anchorage.

Courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.   The APFC offices operate from the Goldbelt Plaza building in Juneau.

One of the most important things that the board does is to review, adopt and monitor an asset allocation that achieves a 5 percent real (above inflation) rate of return using the prudent expert rule combined with a statutory list of approved investments. The prudent expert rule charges fiduciaries to act with discretion and intelligence, to seek reasonable income, preserve capital and, in general, avoid speculative investments. To reduce risk exposure, the APFC diversifies assets as well as management styles. The APFC uses both internal staff and external money managers in managing the Fund's asset classes: stocks, private equities, bonds, real estate and absolute return strategies.