Alaska Investment Program
Recognizing the opportunity to earn attractive returns by backing emerging private market fund managers and private market investment opportunities in Alaska, APFC’s Board of Trustees, through Resolution 18-03, directed APFC staff to select external private market fund managers to execute an Alaska focused private markets investment program.
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation’s (APFC) statutory responsibilities pertaining to in-state investments are set forth in AS 37.13.120 (c) which specifies that an Alaskan investment should be preferred if it has the equivalent risk and expected return comparable to or better than a similar non-Alaskan investment.
Established by the Board in 2018, the in-state investment program is similar to and part of APFC’s existing private market investment program, which holds investments across the country and internationally. APFC’s approach to investing through external private markets managers, for the in-state and out-of-state portfolios, are broadly similar in that APFC does not make specific investments decisions. Instead, they are made by our selected third-party private equity managers. This structure is designed to create a mechanism to reduce the potential for political influence on investment decisions.
External Fund Managers
APFC’s Alaska Investment Program is managed by two external fund managers, with McKinley Capital Management LLC focusing on private equity and Barings LLC focusing on Infrastructure and Private Credit.
Contact them directly with Alaska based private investment proposals.
McKinley Capital Management, LLC
Alaska Private Investment Fund
investorrelations@mckinleycapital.com
(907) 563-4488
www.mckinleycapital.com
Purpose
APFC's investment responsibilities for Fund assets under our stewardship are clearly defined in statute and must meet the standards of the Prudent Investor Rule AS 37.13.120(a). The Board of Trustees and APFC staff must exercise judgment and care exercised by institutional investors of similar size and characteristics. The mandate is to preserve the purchasing power of the Fund while maximizing expected total return from income and capital appreciation.
Under AS 37.13.120(c), as fiduciaries of the Permanent Fund, APFC has an obligation to maintain reasonable diversification of Fund assets, unless not prudent. In regards to Alaska-based investments, this statute directs the Board to invest the assets of the Fund in in-state investments if the investment has a risk level and expected return comparable to other investment opportunities. The Board of Trustees' direction in Resolution 18-03 and APFC's establishment of the Alaska Investment Program addresses the statutory mandate.
Consistent with the requirements of Alaska Statute 37.13.120(c), the in-state investment program is a strategic approach to identifying and supporting talented private market fund managers and investments within Alaska. It targets a rate of return and a risk profile consistent with similar investments outside of Alaska.
Performance
The Alaska Investment Program is part of the Private Equity asset class. The portfolio performance will be evaluated using criteria as noted in the Investment Policies and Procedures including a comparison of vintage year performance against the Cambridge Private Equity Index benchmark. Using the benchmarks for asset class performance allows for measurement in relation to institutional investor peers.
APFC issues a monthly performance report that is available in the APFC Report Archive for all of our asset classes and external managers, including the In-State Private Equity managers: McKinley Capital Management, LLC and Barings, LLC.
Given private markets confidentiality terms, APFC does not publish performance on an investment-by-investment basis. Rather, performance information is aggregated and provides a view of the program's generated return based on the private equity benchmark assigned to these managers.
Confidentiality
AS 37.13.200, which the Alaska Legislature enacted when creating the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation directs us to maintain the confidentiality of proprietary information.
This provision opened the door to investment opportunities like private equity, which require investors to agree to maintain the confidentiality of proprietary information as a condition to invest in such assets.