Permanent Fund invests in Miami-based company it calls 'Alaskan-based'

One of the companies the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has invested an undisclosed amount in through the “in-state” investment program is Nebari Holdings.

A document released by the fund says Nebari Holdings is “an Alaskan-based sponsor,” but that’s not what the Nebari website says.

“Nebari is based in Miami with its team of partners and consultants based globally in Madrid, Zug, Anchorage and London,” the company website says.

Nebari invests in a wide variety of mining projects, but it is not known what Alaska projects it has in mind.

The Permanent Fund investment in Nebari was made by Barings, a manager that created the “Alaska Future Fund” with the $100 million it received in Alaska funds to invest in the state.

Nebari has an Alaska connection, but the company is not based in Alaska, contrary to the claim by Barings and the Permanent Fund.

That the public has been misled over this simple detail is reason for concern.

One of the two co-founders of Nebari and a key figure in the company is Clark Gillam, one of the sons of the late Bob Gillam.

Clark Gillam is also a company director of Heliostar, a mining company with claims in the Aleutian Islands.

One of the other sons of the late Bob Gillam, Robert Gillam, is the head of McKinley Capital Management, which also received $100 million to invest in the state.

Alaskans deserve to know about the investments made in their name by Barings and McKinley Capital Management and how much those two companies are earning from this arrangement. They also deserve to know about the connections among the various companies.

The lack of public disclosure opens the door to political favoritism and backroom dealing. Increased disclosure is important for maintaining trust in the management of the Permanent Fund.

For starters, Alaskans deserve to know if the so-called “two and twenty” rule for compensation is part of this deal with Barings and McKinley Capital.

And Alaskans also deserve to know why Nebari was labeled an “Alaskan-based sponsor” and not a “Miami-based sponsor.”

One of the other connections among the companies is that the Alaska Future Fund invested $10 million in Contango ORE, a company that is a minority partner in the Kinross plan to truck ore to Fort Knox from Tetlin.

And Rick van Nieuwenhuyse, the president and CEO of Contango, is one of four people on the advisory board of Nebari.

So he is involved in different ways with two of the companies that the Alaska Future Fund has invested in.

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