Unknown to the general American public is that there are twenty-one domestic sovereign wealth funds in the United States of America. While there are twenty-one domestic sovereign wealth funds, only twenty states have a domestic sovereign wealth fund as Texas has two. The Texas Permanent School Fund The Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF), the first sovereign wealth fund in the world, was created in 1854 by an act of the Texas Legislature. First called the “Special School Fund,” the PSF was created to finance the state’s public school system. The PSF was principally endowed with $2 million that the state government of Texas had received from the U.S. federal government in return for surrendering its claims to territory in what are now parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Oklahoma. The fund was augmented by an additional land grant of millions of acres of land that were then sold, and the proceeds deposited into the PSF. Only earnings from investments of the PSF can be spent. The fund is managed by the elected State Board of Education and administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), however, the Texas Land Office from 2001 has been responsible for the investments of the PSF funds. As of August 31, 2020, the PSF has a valuation of $46.7 billion. The Texas PSF is ranked number twenty-three on the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Index. The Texas Permanent University Fund The Texas Public University Fund (PUF) was founded in 1876 by the Texas state legislature and was originally funded with land grants authorized by the state legislature. The PUF had a valuation of $36.2 billion as of May 31, 2020. Dividends from the PUF only go to the Texas A&M University System and the University of Texas System. In 1883, the Texas and Pacific Railroad returned 1 million acres of land to the Texas state government under the belief that the land was practically worthless. This land was then deeded over to the PUF. Initially what little revenue that the PUF gained from its land grants came from grazing fees. Prior to 1923, the PUF was underfunded but that all changed in May of 1923 when the first oil well on PUF land in Regan County became a major source of income for the PUF. The PUF has since become one of the best-funded education funds in the United States. There have been numerous lawsuits ever since on how to share the bounty of these funds, and the Texas State Supreme Court has at times had to step in to maintain order between the Austin portion of the PUF and the University of Texas System. Unlike the Texas Permanent Fund, the charter for the PUF forbids the sale of any lands contained in the PUF charter. The PUF is ranked twenty-fourth in the Sovereign Wealth Institute index. The Alaska Permanent Fund The largest and best known of the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the United States is the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF). The APF is managed by the Alaskan Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC). The fund was founded in 1976 by Governor Jay Hammond and from February 1976 to April 1980, the APF was managed by the Department of Revenue Treasury Division. In April of 1980, the Alaskan Legislature created the APFC to manage the Permanent Fund. The fund itself is divided into two distinct funds. The Principal Fund is non-spendable and must be allocated funds on an annual basis to maintain its value after inflation proofing. The Earnings Reserve Account is the amount of money available for consumption and for the issuance of the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). The fund has grown from $734,000 in 1977 to a valuation of $77.8 billion as of April 2021. The PFD was $1,600 in 2018, $1,606 in 2019, and $992 in 2020—which was disbursed on July 1, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic rather than its normal disbursement date in October. The dividend is distributed to every eligible Alaskan citizen, regardless of age, on a yearly basis. This link shows how the citizens of Alaska benefit from the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. On October 3, 2019, it was announced that the APFC had created the Alaska Future Fund (AFF). The AFF has been capitalized at $100 million from the APFC Earnings Reserve. Barings, one of the world’s leading financial services firms, has been tapped by the APFC to head the AFF investments. The AFF’s mission statement says that it: …seeks to identify and support private funds and private market businesses/projects that are either based in Alaska, have investment operations in Alaska or have a current bona fide plan to operate in Alaska. The Alaska Future Fund will invest in businesses and projects that support core sectors of the Alaskan economy, including, but not limited to, real assets, natural resources, transportation, and infrastructure, to grow the Alaskan economy and foster the next generation of private market opportunities in the state of Alaska… The Alaska Permanent Fund is ranked number eighteen on the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Index. Source: Richard E. Caroll, Economist - US Bureau of Labor Statistics
%% WSJ had an interesting article about that some years ago; very, very diversified + some gold............................................................................. TX actually has several counties that opted out of SS[social security] but they closed that window for new opt outs/LOL.Chile still has a private sector run pension.
By comparison: GIC Private Limited, is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves. $488 billion in asset under management. Temasek: Sovereign Wealth Fund in Singapore, was founded in 1974. Current Assets is $417 billion. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is a Central Bank founded in 1971 with current assets of $328 billion. Singapore citizens: 3.5 million, so about 35 million per citizen under management, give or take a mil.
And then there is of course:- Government Pension Fund of Norway The Government Pension Fund of Norway comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the government of Norway. The Government Pension Fund Global (Correct translation: Sovereign Pension Fund - Foreign), also known as the Oil Fund, was established in 1990 to invest the surplus revenues of the Norwegian petroleum sector. It has over US$1.3 trillion in assets, ........ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Norway
%% Interesting they exclude tobacco stocks; a little problem for them/US was founded on tobacco money.................................................... But being bigger than CALpers OK by me....