Alaska Permanent Fund grew by $1.4B in last fiscal year

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Despite a large transfer of funds to the state treasury, the Alaska Permanent Fund has grown by $1.4 billion, a report said.

The fund earned enough from investments to grow by 2% in the fiscal year that ended June 30, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday.

The Permanent Fund Corporation’s board of trustees said during a meeting that the fund stood at $66.3 billion, up from $64.9 billion on the same date in 2018.

The fund earned 6.32% on its investments and transferred 4.3%, leaving a small amount for growth. The figures are expected to be finalized at the corporation’s annual meeting later this month, officials said.

A transfer of $2.7 billion to the treasury was divided in two parts: $1 billion on last year’s $1,600 dividend for residents and $1.7 billion to pay for state services, officials said.

“I think it was a really solid year,” said Bruce Tangeman, the Alaska Department of Revenue commissioner and a corporation trustee.

Under a system the Alaska Legislature approved in 2018, the permanent fund is now more important to the budget than the oil industry and all other taxes combined, the newspaper reported.

The fund consists of the so-called corpus, which cannot be spent without a statewide vote, and the earnings reserve, which can be spent.

Until 2018, there were no limits on earnings reserve spending. The Legislature and then-Gov. Bill Walker approved a bill mandating a regular transfer of 5.25% of the fund’s average value to the state treasury.

“We kept up and added to the earnings reserve account,” said corporation Executive Director Angela Rodell.