North Dakota’s State Investment Board announced the hiring of Verus Advisory to provide investment performance measurement and consulting services for the $21 billion system, which includes the state’s Legacy sovereign wealth fund as well as the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System and Teachers’ Fund for Retirement.
Bismarck-based SIB, in a June 18 news release, said Verus “will deliver independent monthly and quarterly analysis and evaluation” of portfolio performance, as well as provide quarterly performance presentations to the board and conduct a biennial study of external manager fees.
San Francisco-based Callan currently provides SIB with performance analysis and evaluation services as part of a broader investment consulting mandate.
But in line with the system’s build out this year of its internal investment team, the board is moving to hire consultants for narrower mandates such as performance measurement or asset allocation rather than retain another general consultant once Callan’s contract expires at the end of June, said a spokesperson for the board.
In the news release, Jan Murtha, the executive director of North Dakota's Retirement and Investment Office, which coordinates SIB activities, said Verus' investment program performance monitoring will help SIB "ensure the transparency and integrity of the reporting process."
