The state of Alaska has a fund very similar to Norway’s in that it is derived, initially, from oil production royalties. It’s informally known as The Permanent Fund and its assets are around $85 billion. Outside Alaska, it is notorious as being the provider of annual checks to all Alaskans (fide Homer Simpson. Or is it Bart?).
The reality, as always, is more complicated. It does invest primarily in equities, but also in bonds, real estate and on occasion modestly exotic fare. The yearly payout is a function of the realized gains smoothed out over the prior five years, and also of the number of eligible residents. Each resident’s check is known as the “PFD”, because it helps keep one afloat. No...seriously it stands for Permanent Fund Dividend.
A source of intense embarrassment for me is that both Alaska’s and Norway’s programs originated about the same time and each entity produces about the same amount of oil....and Norway’s fund is 12X the size. So, while Alaskans spend their PFD each year on a new snowmachine or big screen tv, Norway keeps investing and investing and investing.....
Other than the job provided to that apocryphal store clerk at the Anchorage Best Buy, the massive spending spree Alaska embarks on each autumn does diddly-squat for the state’s well-being. China is not complaining, however.
