Endowment Fund board backs pay raises for two senior investment staff; governor did not recommend increases

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Oct. 24 heard that the Endowment Fund Investment Board is seeking salary increases for two senior staff members and that the board stands behind the recommendation despite the governor declining to include the compensation adjustments in the executive budget.

Janet Jessup, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the Endowment Fund Investment Board manages investments for state endowments, the state insurance fund and other funds and that the board’s budget request for fiscal 2026 included compensation increases for two employees. "The request for the agency included $100,000 compensation to increase, salaries for 2 of its staff members," Jessup said in her overview. She also noted that because endowment dollars are appropriated in the recipient agencies, the Endowment Fund Investment Board's budget does not show the large endowment balances.

The board’s manager of investments, Chris Anton, told the committee the board’s compensation committee and board had approved the recommendations and that the board had discussed them with the governor’s office and the Division of Human Resources, but had not yet reached a final agreement there. Anton said, "The recommendations were made by our compensation committee and our board. What I meant by that comment was that representatives from our board had met with the governor's office and representatives from DHR, and they hadn't reached a final agreement. So, our board had always stood behind those recommendations." He added that, because of a conflict of interest, further discussion of the dollar allocation among staff was more appropriate from the board chair.

Thomas (Tom) Wilford, chairman of the Endowment Fund Investment Board, said the enhancement request has a long history dating to the hiring of Anton and that the board believes the market now requires higher pay to avoid losing experienced staff. "There's a long history on this enhancement. Enhancement goes back to the point when Chris Anton was hired... The board's feeling is that if we had to replace him someday, that we would have to pay more than we're paying him," Wilford said. He told the committee the largest portion of the requested increase was intended for Anton and that another senior investment officer, identified in testimony as Chris Halverson, was paid substantially below market.

Anton described the change in the agency's portfolio and responsibilities during the officer's tenure: "...Chris has been in that position for 17 years. And over that time, we've gone from managing about $500,000,000 all in fixed income to managing a much more complex portfolio, and we're managing about $5,000,000,000 now between the endowment fund investment board and the money we invest for the state insurance fund." He said the job's scope has increased and that pay grades have not kept pace.

Jessup's presentation included budget detail: the Endowment Fund Investment Board has four FTPs, an average fill rate of about 99.8 percent over five years, and personnel costs account for the largest share of the agency’s appropriation—roughly 80 percent of total appropriations in recent years. She told the committee the governor’s recommendation did not include the requested compensation increases but did support requests for general inflation and certain technical hardware.

Committee members, including Representative Manwaring and Co‑chair Horman, asked whether the board had completed negotiations with the governor's office and whether the raise request reflected turnover risks or attempts to compete with private market pay. Wilford and Anton responded that their compensation committee and board supported the increases and that market comparisons showed the deputy and senior investment officers were below comparable non‑governmental peer pay levels. The board chair said the board accepts the governor's recommendations but still supports its prior request.

No formal committee action or vote on the Endowment Fund Investment Board compensation request occurred during the hearing.

The committee moved next to the Department of Lands budget; Endowment Fund Investment Board staff remained available to answer follow‑up questions.