Endowment Fund board requests pay bumps for two investment staff; governor did not recommend increases

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) heard on-budget testimony Tuesday from the Endowment Fund Investment Board seeking additional compensation funding for two senior investment staff.

Janet Jessup, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, introduced the Endowment Fund Investment Boards budget and noted the board manages state endowments and related funds. Chris Anton, manager of investments for the Endowment Fund Investment Board, and Thomas (Tom) Wilford, chairman of the board, answered committee questions about a compensation enhancement the board had requested for staff.

The board requested roughly $100,000 in ongoing compensation funding to increase pay for two staff members, the largest share aimed at the boards longtime deputy investment officer. Anton told the committee that the deputy has been in the same pay grade for about 17 years while the portfolio the office manages grew from roughly $500 million in fixed income to a broader, more complex set of assets currently running near $5 billion. "He's been in the same pay grade the whole time," Anton said, arguing the role's scope has grown and the pay grade may no longer be appropriate.

Tom Wilford, board chairman, described the requested enhancement as the product of a multi-year effort to align pay with market levels for highly specialized investment roles. "If we had to replace him someday, we would have to pay more than we're paying him," Wilford said, describing the boards rationale for the request.

Representatives on the committee pressed for more detail about the request and whether the board stood behind it before the governors office completed its review. Representative Manwaring asked if the boards recommendation remained the boards position; Anton replied that the recommendations came from the boards compensation committee and the board, though negotiations with the governors office and Division of Human Resources (DHR) were still ongoing when the enhancement was submitted.

A representative of the governors office, identified in the hearing as Miss Wolfe, told the committee DHR analysis determined the deputy position was "close to policy rate for his pay grade," adding the governors recommendation generally aimed to be consistent with state pay policy even when that is not competitive with the private market.

Committee members requested clarification directly from the board chair on the rationale and breakdown of the proposed increases; Wilford and Anton explained the largest increase would go to the deputy investment officer and that the board also sought a raise for Anton himself to address market disparity. Anton told the committee the board had provided pay surveys showing the deputy and other staff are below comparable market rates in the nonprofit and governmental-fund sectors.

Outcome and next steps: the governors budget recommendation did not include the boards requested compensation enhancements. Committee members did not take a final vote on the request at the hearing; staff and board members said they would continue to provide requested documentation and answers to follow-up questions from the committee.

Why it matters: the Endowment Fund Investment Board manages revenues that ultimately support Idaho institutions and beneficiaries. Committee members said they wanted more detail on market comparators and the boards compensation analysis before taking further action.

The committee then moved on to other agenda items.