Legacy and Budget Stabilization Fund Advisory Board reviews fund gains and $150 million in‑state investment plan

The Legacy and Budget Stabilization Fund Advisory Board met on Oct. 22, 2025, in the Harvest Room at the State Capitol in Bismarck to review fund performance, hear proposals for in‑state investments and pooling, and approve the minutes of its May 27 meeting.

Scott Anderson, chief investment officer for the Retirement and Investment Office, told the board the Legacy Fund had a balance of $13 billion as of June 30, 2025, and returned 12.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, compared with a 12.1% benchmark. Anderson said the Budget Stabilization Fund held $981 million and returned 6.6% for the same fiscal year (benchmark 5.9%). He reported the Internal Investment Management Program, implemented in April 2025, returned approximately $1 million more than the benchmark through Oct. 10, 2025, and that the agency anticipates requesting at least five new full‑time equivalent positions for the 2027–29 biennium to continue the program.

GCM Grosvenor representatives described the proposed In‑State Investment Program to deploy a $150 million Legacy Fund commitment to infrastructure projects, with the first investment expected in early 2026. Stephen Brewster, GCM managing director of client services, said the commitment will be deployed across projects so the Legacy Fund represents a portion of total project financing; Scott Litman and Michael Rose, managing directors of infrastructure investments, said GCM expects roughly $50 million per year to be invested over three years and targets renewable energy, digital infrastructure, transportation, social infrastructure and regulated utilities. GCM told the board its investment committee must approve deals and that participation from outside investors is expected to reduce concentration risk.

Kodee Furst, director of 50 South Capital, briefed the advisory board on the North Dakota Growth Fund, saying the fund had $121.5 million committed to investments in 29 North Dakota companies as of June 30, 2025. Furst said the Growth Fund follows an extensive review process intended to reduce the risk of political influence but acknowledged that limited operating history and data make quantifying growth and returns difficult at this stage.

Lance Ziettlow, senior investment officer at the Retirement and Investment Office, emphasized constraints and risks for large in‑state project investments. He said such investments are subject to the prudent investor rule and Legacy Fund policy limits on maximum investment size, and cautioned that concentrating capital in a single project can increase valuation and liquidity challenges. Ziettlow noted that permitting certain large investments would require changes to the Legacy Fund investment policy and cited data centers and pipelines as examples of the types of projects that could concentrate risk.

Jodi A. Smith, executive director of the Retirement and Investment Office, outlined a plan to study investment pooling across state funds. Smith said the office may commingle money from multiple state funds for investment purposes when advantageous while keeping separate accounting, which can lower investment costs but will temporarily increase administrative work and reporting complexity during a transition. The office will gather information on pooling practices used by other sovereign wealth funds.

Representative Jonathan Warrey, the board chair, asked the Retirement and Investment Office to review the Legacy Fund investment policy and present suggested revisions at the advisory board's next meeting. Earlier in the session, the board approved the May 27, 2025 meeting minutes after a motion by Representative Glenn Bosch and second by Senator Jerry Klein.

The meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m.