| November 1889 to Mid-1980s |
Educational trusts are established by the Enabling Act and the Constitution of North Dakota. Responsibility for managing and investing the assets of the trusts is vested in the Board of University and School Lands. Portions of the land and minerals in the trusts are sold or extracted and the proceeds are invested via a "buy and hold" government fixed-income strategy. | |||
| Mid-1980s | The Board maintains its strategy of buying and holding government securities and Bank of North Dakota CDs, and the overall maturity of the portfolio is shortened. | |||
| January 1989 | The Board recognizes the crippling effect of inflation on the purchasing power of the distributed income and sponsors legislation to allow diversification of investments under the "Prudent Investor Rule". | |||
| February 1990 | Informally (without a contract or fee) a money manager/investment consultant suggests a variety of investment strategies for the Board to consider. In an effort to counter the effects of inflation, a strategy to add securities, other than bonds, to the portfolio is approved. | |||
| July 1991 | Initiation of the approved strategy is implemented through an agreement with the State Investment Board. Under the agreement, the SIB recommends money managers, financial advisors and custodians necessary for a diversified portfolio. The Land Board retains final approval and hiring authority. | |||
| July 1993 | The Land Board determines that the difference between managing perpetual trust funds and pension funds is significant enough to warrant a more deliberate approach to its investment program. In addition, the Board also recognizes the difference in its mandate to maximize and distribute income to beneficiaries annually. For these reasons the Land Board assumes full control over the investment program, including the hiring and monitoring of money managers, advisors and custodians. | |||
| March 1995 | The Land Board hires YanniˇBilkey Investment Consulting, a Pittsburgh consulting firm, to conduct an asset allocation study specific to the needs of the trusts managed by the Board of University and School Lands. | |||
| April 1995 | YanniˇBilkey presents its final report and recommendation to the Board of University and School Lands. | |||
| April 1995 to Present |
Land Department personnel work with various consultants, money managers and advisors to develop and recommend a schedule for implementing, as close as possible, the asset allocation recommended by YanniˇBilkey. | |||
| June - July 1995 |
The Land Board approves a plan to implement an asset allocation specific to the needs of the trusts for which the Board is responsible. | |||