The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation’s Board of Trustees will hold a regular meeting on July 24 in Fairbanks. Agenda items include reports from the Audit and Governance Committees, Private Equity asset class presentations from internal and external managers, and updates to the Personnel Management Plan.
During the meeting, the group will retreat to an executive session devoted to “security review” issues. Leaked emails earlier this year have raised concerns about how someone was able to get damaging emails, which were provided to the Alaska Landmine.
It has been a tumultuous season for the trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund, with revelations that one trustee member has possibly used undue influence and pressure on the professional staff who manage the fund, by being overbearing in steering investment decisions. Questions have been raised about the propriety of Trustee Ellie Rubenstein’s meddling in the day-to-day business, with even more questions raised about whether she has attempted to steer investments to funds that she has a personal interest in or that her father has an interest in. Rubenstein is the daughter of David Rubenstein, founder of the Carlyle Investment Group, the world’s sixth largest private equity firm by capital raised over the previous five years.
The emails that were published put an uncomfortable spotlight on trustee Rubenstein, who is the vice chair of the board and the chair of the governance committee. Emails showed that she may have also tried to influence Gov. Mike Dunleavy to not reappoint Ethan Schutt to the board; Schutt is chair of the board of trustees and if he was not reappointed, it’s likely Rubenstein would then become chair. This week he was reappointed by the governor.
The board of trustees has a clear rift between its members, much of it revolving around Rubenstein’s behavior.
The agenda and meeting location and other information is at this link.
The public may attend this meeting in person, virtually via Teams Webinar (registration information listed in the agenda linked above), or by phone.
There will be an opportunity for public comment and participation at 8:30 a.m. at the beginning of the meeting. Those wishing to sign up for public comment should register via Teams and email [email protected] by noon on July 23.