The State Investment Board has approved a plan proposed by the Legacy Fund Advisory Board to change how the Fund is invested.
The Legacy Fund was created by voters to save a portion of oil tax revenues for future use. The fund has $1.1 billion – and that amount is growing.
Currently, the funds are conservatively invested. And it doesn’t earn a lot.
"The annualized return based on current yield, maybe one and a half percent," said Interim Chief Investment officer Darren Schulz. He says the Legacy Fund Advisory Board has recommended a change in the asset allocation plan – that is, the way the fund is invested. And he says the expectation is that the change will increase the returns to just over six percent.
"This is an endowment, intended to benefit current and future North Dakotans," said Schulz. "Our goal is to ensure these assets grow."
The Legislature is unable to touch the Legacy Fund until 2017, and then it can only access the fund's earnings.
