Alaska Permanent Fund
Country: United States
Established: 1976
US$ Billion: 39.8
Origin: Oil
Transparency Rating: 9
Summary:
Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established Fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976. Shortly after the oil from Alaska’s North Slope began flowing to market through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the Permanent Fund was created by an amendment to the constitution of the U.S. state of Alaska to be an investment for at least 25% of proceeds from some minerals [such as oil and gas] sale or royalties.
The Fund does not include either property taxes on oil company property nor income tax from oil corporations, so the minimum 25% deposit is really more like 11% if those sources were also considered. The Alaska Permanent Fund sets aside a share certain oil revenues to continue benefiting current and all future generations of Alaskans. Many citizens also believed that the legislature too quickly and too inefficiently spent the $900 million bonus the state got in 1969 after leasing out the oil fields. This belief spurred a desire to put some oil revenues out of direct political control.
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation manages the assets of both the Permanent Fund and other state investments, but spending Fund income is up to the Legislature. The Corporation is to manage for maximum prudent return, and not--as some Alaskans at first wanted--as a development bank for in-state projects. The Fund grew from an initial investment of $734,000 in 1977 to the current sum of approximately forty billion dollars as of July 13, 2007. Some growth was due to good management, some to inflationary re-investment, and some via legislative decisions to deposit extra income during boom years. Each year, the fund's realized earnings are split between inflation-proofing, operating expenses, and the annual Permanent Fund Dividend.
News and Updates
3/25/08
University of Alaska Anchorage newspaper urges Alaska Permanent Fund to stop Sudan investment
Alaska legislators need to act fast and pass a bill designed to stop the Alaska Permanent Fund from investing in companies operating in Sudan. House Bill 287 "mandates targeted divestment and prohibits future investment in the state managed PFD and Pension Funds in targeted companies that do business with Sudan," according to the House Majority Web site. "Alaska has very little invested in Sudan, about 36 million, or 0.1 percent of total assets," said the House Majority Web site.
read more: The Northern Light
2/29/08
$360 mln of Alaska Permanent Fund may go towards keeping Alaskans warm
Despite a vast supply of oil, Alaskans face above normal prices on fuel that results in high heating costs. Now state lawmakers are considering offering hundreds of dollars in rebates to help Alaskans offset high home-heating prices. High heating costs result from the steep cost of shipping oil by barge or plane to the Alaskan hinterlands. Alaskan lawmakers have less than two months to address the issue before risking embarrassment by Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who in the past has been quicker to come to the aid of Alaskans than their own Legislature. Just last year, Citgo the Venezuelan oil company donated $5 million to Alaska's poorest communities in order to keep them warm. Alaskan Rep. Bill Thomas, a Republican has suggested a $500 payout to state residents, which would cost nearly $360 million. Furthermore, Bill Thomas indicates that the payout could come from the Alaska Permanent Fund.
read more: The Associated Press
Location
801 West Tenth Street - 302
Juneau, AK 99801-1823
United States
Website
Alaska Fund Site
1. All figures quoted are from official sources, or, where the institutions concerned do not issue statistics of their holdings, from other publicly available sources.
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