The Alaska Permanent Fund hit a new high on Monday, reaching over $70.25 billion.
The fund, which is Alaska’s investment fund that comes from the state’s oil royalties, fluctuates with the market; it will likely retreat from that bold number before advancing, but the market had a hot day of trading upon the news that vaccines are on the horizon for COVID-19.
The Dow Industrial Average closed over 30,000 for the first time on Tuesday. According to the Wall Street Journal, the eight-month stock rebound put the Dow up more than 60% from its March low, “when a Fed economic rescue plan ended a panic that wiped out trillions of dollars in investments.”
The trading was so heavy that some of the more popular trading platforms were overburdened with users and were operating slowly, which frustrated investors.
The Dow gained 454.97 points, or 1.5%, “continuing a recent winning streak that has put it on track for the best month since 1987,” the Journal stated.
Alaska’s Permanent Fund is obviously benefiting from that bull market and a steady team under APFC Chief Executive Officer Angela Rodell. The fund has been on a march for several weeks.
The Earnings Reserve Account, which is the spendable portion of the Permanent Fund, is at $6.7 billion, $3 billion of which is realized earnings. Permanent Fund dividends for Alaskans come from the Earnings Reserve Account, and state government is paid for from the same account under a formula called Percent of Market Value, or POMV.
And somehow we’re still not gonna get our full statutory PFD
‘The Earnings Reserve Account, which is the spendable portion of the Permanent Fund, is at $6.7 billion, $3 billion of which is realized earnings. Permanent Fund dividends for Alaskans come from the Earnings Reserve Account, and state government is paid for from the same account under a formula called Percent of Market Value, or POMV.’ What do you mean when you say the State Government is paid from the same account under a formula called the Percent of Market Value. When did we the public approve this POMV formula?
True. The market is reacting to the prospect of a vaccine. But it is also reacting to the imminent nomination of Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, the prospect of greater stability and leadership from a Biden administration, and Trump’s embarrassingly belated recognition that he’s lost this election. In any case, this is good for Alaska.
Greater stability and leadership from a Biden administration? Are you serious? You’ve lost your damn mind!
What a crock, James! Are you the same James on trapperman? As stated by the left leaning NPR show, Marketplace, the market is the ONLY place right now to get any kind of a return on your money! With J Powell keeping interest rates low, it’s stocks or nothing. You think Janet Yellen is gonna change that?
Ha. You must be a comedian. Greater stability, ha.
Let’s spend it – quick! I don’t see how the stock market (and PF) can continue expanding before another collapse. Just look at all the closed businesses in town. It’s that way throughout the country. Somehow all that federal covid money must be finding its way to the stock market and artificially inflating it. And it ain’t the average Joe that’s investing; he lost his shirt last Spring.
Great news but what good does it do us if Bryce won’t unclasp his greedy little fingers from it? When is Dillingham going to wake up?
Now comes the ? will the Representatives and Senators be able to keep their hands off the Earnings fund or will they raid the fund as in the Past.
Steve: We already know the answer to this question. The average pol in the Alaska Legislature will spend from the Earnings Reserve Account.
So, are Alaska legislators going to give us the full statutory dividend – not the percent of market value, but the dividend based on the statutory formula: 1) Add fund statutory net income from the current plus the previous four fiscal years, 2) Multiply by 21%, 3)Divide by 2, 4) Subtract prior year obligations, expenses and PFD program operations, 5) Divide by the number of eligible applicants. Nah, the Alaska Legislature will take the lion’s share, gave us peanuts and we should feel “lucky” to get any amount from the earnings.
So with that being said, NOW is the time to help ALL Alaskans by issuing a Emergency dividend during this difficult time. Government leadership need to do the right thing.
This could happen if Governor Dunleavy is willing to use the authority in the Alaska Constitution to call a special session calling for appropriation using funds in the Earnings Reserve Account to be paid to eligible Alaskans in the form of a supplemental PFD.
Alaska’s lobbyist-legislator team may have to go into overtime to figure out how to spend all of $70+B.
You do realize, don’t you, that they can’t spend all $70 billion of it? This is the total value of the fund, most of which they cannot touch without an amendment to the state constitution.
This is good because if the fund is highly valued, that value will increase the amount of money the fund generates. This is bad because if the record high market tanks tomorrow, or next week, or next year, the value of the fund tanks with it. It’s a little like oil prices, life is good when they’re high, not so when they’re low.
That doesn’t mean that pols haven’t been circling the fund for years trying to figure out how to break into that big, beautiful piggy bank. The PF is one of Alaska’s best ideas. The PFD, not so much.
Fair point… in theory, you’re correct.
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In practice, we’ve seen more than a bit of skullduggery scammed by our lobbyist-legislative team under the guise of law and constitution.
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Sure and the state constitution’s a grand thing but doesn’t it seem a bit shaky when one realizes the 7-member Judicial Council controls one-third of state government, which seems more concerned with leniency toward violent sex offenders and recalling the governor
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… while the state’s chief law-enforcement guy had to quit because he got too busy chasing some gal subordinate.
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Not sure we know how the Permanent Fund is insulated from extreme market fluctuations. Fund that big is a market-maker, so we can be reasonably sure it’s hedged to keep it from doing the slinky like a penny stock.
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PFD’s a grand idea, passive income just like a royalty check, rent, stock dividend. Problem is the pols stole most of it. And got away with stealing it.
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Mark our words, as the pols become emboldened by their enterprises, they and their communist Chinese gas-pipeline pals will, by some device, aided if necessary by ranked-choice voting, try to create a crisis or crises to justify grabbing all or most of the $70+B.
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Why?
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(a) because it’s there, and (b) because they’ve figured out productive Alaskans, through no fault of their own, can be convinced of anything when they’re made fearful enough and confused enough about it.
We need to liquefy the PF and pay out to all Alaskans. Then when we all have to pay a state tax everyone will realize exactly how many non government required things we pay for.
Keep it out of the politicians’ reach or it will be gone
Restore Alaskans stolen dividends immediately while the market hasn’t entered the Xiden regime nosedive! But then spend your check quickly while it will still buy something. While there is still something to buy as the coming National Lockdown (gotta maintain CONTROL!) and there’s little on the shelves.
Many experts are voicing the possibility of a world-wide famine within the next few years. Global warming, or whatever is going on, is changing weather patterns all over. Drought could hit anywhere, and maybe almost everywhere, at anytime.
Lets speculate that N. Africa begins to get an abundance of rain. It would still take many years to adjust, nurture top soil, and grow crops in abundance. Meanwhile, much of the croplands now producing could wither. It’s that gap that presents the greatest danger of world-wide famine.
No joke. Alaskan folks need financial help, but the political B.S. Well, that’s another story. Politicians, would not
get it because they are well feed and feel no pain, sadly.
The funds in the corpus of the PF are not available for spending. The funds in the Earnings Reserve Account managed by the PF Corporation are available for spending via a simple majority vote by the Alaska Legislature subject to review and possible reduction or complete veto by the Governor.
The government is smiling while the rest of Alaska’s society feel another slab being, cut off even bigger then the last…..
If the PF is now up to $70 billion, then, why the dividend decreasing?
Because of a Fixed Fake POMV Draw that only gives money to the government while shuffling the half available to them to inflation proof a Percent of market value that is only their to allow them to steal from you…
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