Interim leader appointed to head North Dakota Legacy Fund

(Mary Steurer – North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota State Investment Board on Friday named former Land Commissioner Jodi Smith as interim executive director of the Retirement and Investment Office.

On Friday, board members also elected Gov. Kelly Armstrong as chair. The position has historically been delegated to the lieutenant governor, but Armstrong chose to serve on the board.

Smith is currently director of lands and compliance at the Metro Flood Diversion Authority for Fargo-Moorhead. She was land commissioner from 2017 to 2021, a role which included serving on the State Investment Board.

“She has done an outstanding job as a board member — so she has legislative experience, which we feel is obviously necessary coming into the next legislative session,” Robert Lech, chair of the executive director search committee, said of Smith.

Smith will replace Jan Murtha, who announced her departure in late November. Murtha, who served as executive director for more than two years, is leaving the Retirement and Investment Office to pursue philanthropic and private sector opportunities.

The board hopes for Smith to start in the position on Jan. 20 or earlier, if possible. She will receive the same salary as Murtha, roughly $19,784 a month, the board said Friday. That’s equal to an annual salary of about $237,408.

“We have a great individual who was willing to step up, and I’m very supportive of this recommendation,” State Treasurer Thomas Beadle, who sits on the State Investment Board, said during the meeting.

The search committee will hire a firm to field candidates for a permanent director, the board decided Friday.

RIO administers investments of the Legacy Fund, which last year topped $11 billion, as well as other state funds like the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement.

Armstrong during his campaign for governor was critical of how the Legacy Fund is managed, arguing that the state should be more transparent about its holdings.

During a debate against former Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, previous chair of the State Investment Board, Armstrong said the public “shouldn’t have to file an open records request to understand where North Dakota taxpayer dollars are invested.”

Murtha has said previously the state already publishes a wealth of information on the Legacy Fund, though some information is kept secret in order to safeguard the state’s ability to invest.

At least one bill expected to be introduced during the legislative session would mandate all of the fund’s investments to be made public.

Murtha, whose last day was Friday, took a moment to thank the board at the end of the meeting.

“I have really appreciated the opportunity to learn in this role,” she said.