Endowment Fund board seeks pay increases for two senior investment staff; governor declines compensation request

Endowment Fund Investment Board officials told members of the Joint Finance/Appropriations Committee that the board recommended paying two senior investment staff larger raises to reflect expanded responsibilities and market comparators, but the governor's budget did not include the requested compensation increases.

The board’s chair, Thomas Wilford, and the board’s investment manager, Chris Anton, appeared with Legislative Services budget analyst Janet Jessup to outline personnel history and the compensation request. Jessup said the board requested $100,000 to increase salaries for two staff members as part of its FY2026 submission. Wilford described a long history of staggered enhancements dating to when Anton was hired and said the board is concerned that a future replacement would cost more than current pay levels.

The request stems from changes in the board’s work and endowment portfolio. Anton told the committee the investment program has grown from a predominantly fixed‑income portfolio of about $500 million to a multi‑asset program managing roughly $5 billion across the Endowment Fund Investment Board and funds managed for the state insurance fund. Anton said one deputy investment officer, identified in the hearing as Chris Halverson, has been in the same pay grade for about 16–17 years and “is way below market” compared with comparable nonprofit and governmental funds. Anton said the formal dollar requests were $54,800 for Halverson and $28,400 for Anton himself, figures the board put forward to address market gaps.

Miss Wolfe, appearing for the governor’s budgeting team, told the committee the administration reviewed the request with Division of Human Resources analysis and concluded that Halverson’s pay was “close to policy rate for his pay grade.” Wolfe said the governor’s recommendation sought to remain consistent with state pay policy and with pay for comparable state positions, even while acknowledging the board’s view that some positions are not competitive with the private market.

Committee members asked whether the board had fully approved the recommendations and whether the board had engaged the governor’s office. Anton said the recommendations were approved by the board’s compensation committee and the board and that board representatives had met with the governor’s office and DHR but had not reached a final agreement with the administration.

Why this matters: the Endowment Fund Investment Board manages long‑term investment pools that supply income to beneficiaries across state agencies. Committee members and board leadership framed the compensation request as a retention and recruitment issue tied to investment returns and fiduciary continuity.

What the committee heard: Wilford said the board “accept[s] what the governor recommends” while urging consideration of the board’s recruitment and retention concerns. Anton stressed the growth in portfolio complexity and the length of service for the deputy CIO role. Wolfe confirmed the governor’s recommendation excluded the compensation increases but supported other parts of the board’s budget request, such as general inflation adjustments and technical hardware replacements.

Next steps and budget effect: no formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing on the compensation request. The governor’s recommendation omits the requested compensation dollars; if the committee wants those increases, it would need to add them to the budget during its deliberations.

Ending: committee members thanked staff and board members for their presentation and moved on to the Department of Lands section of the hearing.