North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office

North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office
Agency name	North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office
Formed	2001
Preceding1	Public Employees Retirement System of North Dakota
Jurisdiction	North Dakota
Headquarters	Bismarck, North Dakota
Minister1 name	State Treasurer
Chief1 name	Chief Investment Officer

Contents

North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office The North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office administers statewide public pension and investment programs for North Dakota public employees, coordinating with agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget (United States), the North Dakota State Treasurer, the Legislative Assembly of North Dakota, and the North Dakota Department of Commerce. The office serves beneficiaries across systems analogous to the Public Employees Retirement System of Idaho, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, and the Texas Teacher Retirement System, while engaging with custodians like Bank of New York Mellon, State Street Corporation, and Northern Trust Corporation.

History

The office traces its statutory origins through reforms influenced by models like the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Social Security Act, and state pension reforms in Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Montana. Legislative milestones include measures debated in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and decisions by officials comparable to the Governor of North Dakota and the North Dakota Supreme Court. Policy shifts mirrored national trends exemplified by events such as the 1973 oil crisis, the 2008 financial crisis, and regulatory changes after the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The office has negotiated service arrangements with firms like BlackRock, Vanguard Group, Fidelity Investments, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs and responded to fiduciary guidance from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Governance structures align roles similar to the State Treasurer of North Dakota, the Chief Financial Officer (United States), and boards comparable to the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System Board. The organizational chart includes executive leadership, investment staff, actuarial teams, and external advisors drawn from institutions like Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Mercer (company), and Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company. Oversight interactions occur with committees patterned on the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee and coordinate with educational institutions such as North Dakota State University and University of North Dakota for research. Counsel is often informed by decisions in cases from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and policies from the National Association of State Treasurers.

Investment programs encompass defined benefit portfolios, defined contribution alternatives, and diversified asset pools comparable to allocations in the Alaska Permanent Fund, the New Mexico State Investment Council portfolios, and the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board. Asset classes include public equity similar to holdings in Russell 3000 Index and S&P 500, fixed income instruments aligned with U.S. Treasury securities and municipal bonds, real assets akin to real estate investment trusts and infrastructure finance projects, and alternatives like private equity involving firms such as The Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Risk exposures are monitored with benchmarks such as the MSCI World Index, the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, and strategies employed by managers including Bridgewater Associates and Two Sigma.

Service delivery parallels offerings from the Federal Employees Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, providing benefit calculations, disability processing, survivor benefits, and retiree health coordination. Plan administration utilizes actuarial assumptions from the Society of Actuaries and valuation practices influenced by standards like those of the Government Finance Officers Association and the American Academy of Actuaries. Member education draws on resources similar to those from the National Institute on Retirement Security and collaborates with unions and associations such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Education Association.

Risk frameworks follow principles from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and compliance regimes informed by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and state statutes enacted by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly. Internal controls reference standards from the Institute of Internal Auditors and coordinate with external auditors from firms like Ernst & Young, PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte. Fiduciary duty and ERISA-adjacent best practices are compared to rulings from the United States Supreme Court and guidance issued by the Department of Labor (United States). Cybersecurity and business continuity planning engage frameworks from National Institute of Standards and Technology and partnerships with vendors such as Cisco Systems and Microsoft.

Financial reporting aligns with GASB standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and actuarial reporting consistent with the American Academy of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. Performance attribution and benchmarking reference indices from MSCI, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and FTSE Russell and analytical tools supplied by Bloomberg L.P. and FactSet Research Systems. Annual reports present funded status, investment returns, and actuarial valuations comparable to disclosures by the California State Teachers' Retirement System and the New York State Common Retirement Fund; audit opinions are typically rendered by national accounting firms such as Grant Thornton.

The office impacts public employees, retirees, municipalities, and state budgets akin to interactions seen with Municipal bond issuers, state agencies like the North Dakota Department of Health, and local governments including Cass County, North Dakota and Ward County, North Dakota. Stakeholder engagement includes dialogues with labor organizations such as the Service Employees International Union, advisory councils modeled on the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, and collaborations with economic development entities like the Greater North Dakota Chamber and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Policy influence extends to legislative proposals considered by the North Dakota Senate and North Dakota House of Representatives, and the office’s activities intersect with state fiscal policy shaped by actors including the Governor of North Dakota and the State Budget Section.