By Russ Wiles, The Republic | azcentral.com
The relatively recent shift to stock market investing has paid off for Arizona’s century-old land trust fund. The state-run portfolio just eclipsed $5 billion in assets, helping to finance schools.
One of Arizona’s largest public investment portfolios continues to benefit from something that once was taboo: investing in the stock market.
Helped by rising stock values, the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund last month surpassed $5 billion in assets for the first time. The fund oversees proceeds generated from the gradual sale of state land originally given to Arizona by the federal government a century ago. Most of the portfolio now is spread around the stock market.
The fund’s investment earnings support various public services and entities. Education programs for Grades K-12 receive the lion’s share of distributions, roughly 90 percent.
While the fund holds bonds, too, solid recent investment results have been paved by stock-market gains.
