Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature
Skip Navigation Links > >

Minnesota Agencies

Information on Minnesota State Agencies, Boards, Task Forces, and Commissions

Compiled by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library


Investment Board

Also known as:
Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI)
Active dates:1885-
Authority:
Minn. Constitution Art. XI Sec. 8
Function:

Established in 1885 to manage assets for the State of Minnesota, the State Board of Investment (SBI) is also responsible for the assets of the three Statewide Retirement Systems, various defined contribution plans, non-retirement accounts, and tax-advantaged savings plans.

All investments undertaken by the Investment Board are governed by the prudent person rule and other standards codified in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 11A and chapter 356A.

History:

The state Investment Board was created by the legislature in 1885. Today, the board is comprised of the Governor (Chair), State Auditor, Secretary of State and the State Attorney General. To carry out its mission, the board retains an executive director, an internal investment staff, internal accounting and support staff and external investment managers to execute its policies.

The Minnesota Historical Society provides this full history of the board:

The Board was originally created by passing an act proposing an amendment to Article Eight of the of the Constitution of the State of Minnesota concerning disposition of permanent school funds. (Laws of Minnesota 1885, chapter 1). The amendment was adopted in 1886 (see: State Constitutional Amendments Considered).

Originally composed of the governor, the state auditor, and the state treasurer, the board was set up to authorize loans of permanent school funds to counties or school districts for the purpose of erecting county or school buildings.

In 1895 the board was enlarged to include the president of the board of regents of the state university and the chief justice of the state supreme court (Laws of Minn. 1895, chap. 163, sec. 10). Its duties were also expanded to include investing funds from the sale of state school lands, timber, or timber property in Minnesota bonds or federal bonds. It was authorized to make loans to counties, school districts, cities, towns, and villages, but it was not allowed to make loans for railroad construction. After 1895, the board was sometimes referred to as the Board of Commissioners.

In 1913 the state attorney general replaced the chief justice on the board (Laws of Minn. 1913, chap. 50). The position of investment secretary was created by the legislature in 1917 (Laws of Minn. 1917, chap. 271). The secretary had general supervision of the investigation of applications for loans, the negotiation of new investments, the examination of securities, and the investigation of records of municipalities applying for loans. Prior to 1917 the state treasurer had acted as secretary.

In 1919 the legislature redefined the functions of the board (Laws of Minn. 1919, chap. 516). The membership remained the same, but the board was given jurisdiction over all permanent trust funds of the state. It was to invest them in bonds of the federal government, the state, school districts, counties, cities, towns, and villages. As before, it was not to invest in bonds issued to aid in the construction of railroads. It also had the power to fix and change rates of interest on loans to municipalities.

The office of investment secretary was abolished in 1925 (Laws of Minn. 1925, chap. 426, art. 18, sec. 2) and all of its powers and duties transferred to the executive secretary of the Executive Council. Under the same law the board was given the additional power of investing the teachers' insurance and retirement fund.

In 1931 the membership of the board was changed to include any one member of the board of regents instead of its president (Laws of Minn. 1931, chap. 346). In 1939 the board was authorized to invest money in corporate stocks and Canadian bonds (Laws of Minn. 1963, chap. 567). Under the same law the board of regents of the state university was given control of the permanent university fund and the Board of Investment's membership reverted to that prescribed by the state constitution: the governor, state auditor, state treasurer, secretary of state, and attorney general.

The investment laws of the state were recodified in 1980 (Laws of Minn. 1980, chap. 607, art. 14). The board's membership remained the same and they select a qualified executive director. The board manages retirement funds for state employees, the investment treasurer's cash fund, transportation funds, and proceeds from bond sales. Through external money managers and the internal investment staff, the board invests in a diversified portfolio of stocks, securities, real estate funds, resource programs, and venture capital.

The board is advised on general investment policy by an Investment Advisory Council (Laws of Minn. 1980, chap. 607, art. 14, sec. 6).

Membership:

Membership, as specified in the Constitution, is comprised of the Governor (Chair), State Auditor, Secretary of State and the State Attorney General.

To carry out its mission, the SBI retains an executive director, an internal investment staff, internal accounting and support staff and external investment managers to execute its policies. In performing its duties, the SBI is assisted by the Investment Advisory Council (IAC), which is comprised of 17 individuals with investment and retirement fund expertise.

Note: The Legislative Reference Library may have additional reports on or by this group available through our catalog.
Documents/Articles:
News clippings and documents. Agencies Notebook Collection, 1970-2022.
Record last updated: 10/17/2022
 

All information on this group from the Library’s collection of agency notebooks has been digitized. These materials are incorporated into the “documents/articles” section of the record. Please contact a librarian with any questions. The Minnesota Agencies database is a work in progress.

Agencies image