Unwarranted secrecy is just one problem with the Permanent Fund 'in-state' investment of $200 million
The Alaska Permanent Fund board of trustees reviewed the so-called "in-state” investment program earlier this month and some of the issues that arise from the $200 million program.
My major complaint all along has been about the claim by the fund managers that they can keep all investment details—including the names of recipients and the purpose of investments—secret, based on a line inserted into state law for another reason more than four decades ago.
But secrecy—which is an invitation to political corruption—is not the only issue to consider. Two of the other major ones are the tenuous connection to Alaska that some of the companies have and the potential conflicts of interest when the state invests in companies that it is supposed to regulate and monitor for the public good.
Trustee Ellie Rubenstein, the daughter of Alice Rogoff and billionaire David Rubenstein, was recused from the topic, perhaps because she was a co-founder of PT Capital, a company that was part of one of the secret investments we learned about this month—the investment in All Alaska Tours by Barings, a firm managing money for the Permanent Fund.
I intend to write more about this entire matter in the days to come. To watch the half-hour discussion, go to the 4 hour, 36-minute mark of the video below.