2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Value Generated For Alaska

ANNUALIZED RETURN SINCE INCEPTION
8.91%

TOTAL FUND VALUE
$76,337,200,000

FY22 TOTAL RETURN
-1.32%

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is viewed through many lenses – an investor, an accountant, a manager, a leader, a steward, a student, and an Alaskan – each bringing a unique perspective on the value and potential of the Alaska Permanent Fund, a world-class financial resource.

At APFC, our passion for investing, decades of financial experience, and steadfast commitment to our fellow Alaskans all contribute to protecting the Fund.

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is viewed through many lenses – an investor, an accountant, a manager, a leader, a steward, a student, an Alaskan – each bringing a unique perspective on the value and potential of the Alaska Permanent Fund, a world-class financial resource.

At APFC, our passion for investing, decades of financial experience, and steadfast commitment to our fellow Alaskans all contribute to protecting the Fund. Amidst the recent inflationary pressures and economic volatility affecting global markets, prudent management remains, as always, an essential component of the Corporation’s work. Entrusted as stewards and fiduciaries of the Fund, APFC’s vision and diverse investment strategies complement the long-term investment horizon, ensuring consistent risk-adjusted returns over time. This is the work done every day by APFC’s Board and staff as we strive to safeguard and wisely invest the Fund for the benefit of Alaskans today and for generations to come.

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

It has been rewarding in recent years to witness the Alaska Permanent Fund’s transition to generating a stable, predictable, and sustainable revenue stream for the State of Alaska. The perspective of this paradigm shift is strongly informed by the Board of Trustees’ long-held conviction that adherence to rules-based savings and spending mechanisms can ensure the Fund’s intergenerational value and benefit.

As our world continues to change in ways unforseen even a few years ago, serving Alaskans on the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation’s Board of Trustees and helping guide the Fund through these uncertain times has been a humbling experience and a great honor. Persistent market volatility has reinforced the long-term investment perspective of the portfolio, the fortitude of strategic asset allocation, and the importance of leveraging opportunity. Our primary mission continues to be ensuring that the assets of the Fund are safeguarded and well positioned to maximize risk-adjusted returns over a long horizon.

In FY22, we witnessed some of the highest rates of inflation experienced by the Fund. The importance of inflation-proofing the Principal has been a focus since the Corporation was established in 1980, highlighted by APFC’s first Board Chair Elmer Rasmuson who called inflation the “thief in the night” for its ability to quietly reduce the Fund’s future purchasing power. That serious threat remains true today. The Principal’s enduring value can and must be preserved through annual Legislative inflation proofing appropriations until the time that a classic single fund endowment structure is established.

In leading the Fund and the Corporation into the future, the Board recognizes the increasing sophistication of the portfolio and the rapidly changing operating environment of investment management. APFC’s ability to rise to the opportunity of the challenge is grounded in governance, leadership, and diligence of the Board and APFC’s professional staff working collaboratively in service to Alaskans and stewardship of the Fund.

This year we welcomed Gabrielle “Ellie” Rubenstein and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Jason Brune to the APFC Board of Trustees. Their service is mission-driven and built upon years of private and public sector experience. We bade farewell to Trustee Bill Moran and his 16 years of distinguished and deep-rooted service to the Fund. Our appreciation also goes to Trustee Corri Feige for her service to the State and insightful oversight during her Board tenure. We acknowledge their contributions and those of other former Trustees in building a legacy of governance and duty that continues to guide the Board’s stewardship of the Fund.

The prudent investment and consistent management of the Fund will always be held to the highest standards – those of fiduciary duty, uncompromising integrity, and straightforward accountability. By upholding these principles, the Fund will continue to benefit Alaskans today and in the future.

Craig Richards
Chair, Board of Trustees

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APFC Board of Trustees 2022 – Left to right sitting: Trustee Gabrielle Rubenstein; Chair Craig Richards; Vice-Chair Lucinda Mahoney, Commissioner of Department of Revenue.
Left to right standing: Trustee Jason Brune, Commissioner of Department of Environmental Conservation; Trustee Ethan Schutt; Trustee Steve Rieger

From the acting executive director

As global economies continue to be pushed to extremes, we can already see how the various geopolitical, economic, and social events from the past few years have influenced the performance of the Alaska Permanent Fund. Investing on a long horizon, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation has a unique ability to look forward at the bigger picture, assess our strategies, and adjust course to ensure that we achieve our long-term return objectives.

This isn’t just hyperbole. Having started working at APFC in 1993 as an accountant, when the Fund was valued at $15 billion and invested across three asset classes, I have been fortunate to see and be part of the growth and transformation of the Corporation into the globally respected financial institution it is today. Even in a challenging year, we have been recognized by our peers and our fellow Alaskans for our ability to provide essential resources to Alaska while safeguarding the Fund. We accomplish this as a Corporation and as individuals, demonstrating our enduring values of integrity, stewardship, and passion.

Over the past year, having the opportunity to lead this Corporation has been an honor. It has given me an even better perspective of the fortitude and resiliency of APFC’s dedicated staff and their commitment to serving for the benefit of all Alaskans. In collaboration, APFC’s diligent investment teams rely on trusted support from our finance, operations, communications, HR, and IT staff, ensuring that the Corporation remains efficient and effective while meeting the expectations of Alaskans and our global partners.

Though we are always proud to see our colleagues advance professionally, it was with mixed emotions that we said goodbye to some of our valued staff who moved on to new opportunities. With gratitude, I recognize their service and contributions will continue to benefit the Fund for years to come. At the same time, APFC has been fortunate to welcome several bright new staff. Their enthusiasm, knowledge, and engagement are already strengthening our team and enhancing the Corporation.

We embrace our role as an increasingly sophisticated and globally positioned institution. From far and wide, APFC has long been viewed as an effective and influential institutional investor. APFC’s team of professionals works every day, upholding our culture and values, fiduciary responsibility, and stewardship of Alaska’s most treasured renewable financial resource, the Alaska Permanent Fund.

Valerie Mertz
Acting Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer

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APFC IN FY22

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is comprised of an experienced, knowledgeable, and diverse team working diligently on behalf of our fellow Alaskans.

Processed 8,640 internal trades
with a value of $155 billion

Monitored investments in
more than 100 countries
around the globe denominated in
42 different currencies

Accounted for over 43,000 transactions
every month across more than 800 bank accounts holding almost 17,000 unique investments

60 Budgeted full-time positions

7 Positions filled in FY22

2 APFC Interns

APFC IN FY22

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation is comprised of an experienced, knowledgeable, and diverse team working diligently on behalf of our fellow Alaskans.

Processed 8,640 internal trades with a value of $155 billion

Monitored investments in more than 100 countries around the globe denominated in 42 different currencies

Accounted for over 43,000 transactions every month across more than 800 bank accounts holding almost 17,000 unique investments

60 Budgeted full-time positions

7 Positions filled in FY22

2 APFC Interns