Nebraska Investment Council

The Council's investment program is led by State Investment Officer Ellen Hung, who serves as CEO and chief investment officer. Hung oversees internal equity and fixed-income teams while selecting and monitoring all external managers. The five-member Council, chaired by Gail Werner-Robertson with State Treasurer Tom Briese as an ex officio member, sets investment policy and approves asset allocation ranges but delegates day-to-day management to staff.

The Council invests in real estate through institutional commingled funds, separate accounts, and co-investment vehicles spanning commercial, residential, and specialty property types. Confirmed manager relationships include UBS Trumbull Property Fund, Kayne Anderson Real Estate Partners, Carlyle Realty Partners, and Almanac Realty Securities. The Council also holds timberland exposure through BTG Pactual's timberland strategy and infrastructure-linked real assets through energy and maritime funds.

The Nebraska Investment Council is a state pension fund and asset owner, not a private family office. It serves as fiduciary for Nebraska's public employee retirement systems, the NEST 529 college savings plan, the Enable health-related savings plan, and multiple state endowment funds. All assets are public funds governed by Nebraska statute and overseen by a public board.

The Council's alternatives portfolio includes private real estate, natural resource funds, private equity, and infrastructure strategies. Documented commitments include energy funds managed by the Energy & Minerals Group and EIF, real estate by Kayne Anderson and Carlyle, and niche allocations to maritime and timberland vehicles. The Council does not publish a comprehensive list of private equity or hedge fund commitments, and appears to concentrate its disclosed alternatives exposure in tangible asset classes.

The Council participates in limited partnership interests across its disclosed alternatives portfolio, with some positions — such as the Almanac Realty Securities mandate — structured to include co-investment rights. However, the Council does not publicly emphasize a dedicated co-investment program or operate a separate direct-investment vehicle. Most alternatives exposure appears to flow through commingled fund structures rather than side-by-side co-investment vehicles.

The Council manages assets for the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST), the Enable Savings Plan, the Nebraska Health Care Endowment Fund, and the Nebraska General Endowment Funds — all through a unified Operating Investment Pool. This pooled structure means each plan owns a pro-rata share of the Council's total portfolio rather than maintaining separate asset allocations. The arrangement is governed by Nebraska statutes that designate the Council as the sole investment fiduciary for these state-administered funds.

The Council consists of five members: the Nebraska State Treasurer, who serves ex officio, and four public members appointed by the Governor to staggered terms. The Council elects its own chair — currently Gail Werner-Robertson, who also serves as president of GWR Wealth Management, a private advisory firm. Day-to-day investment operations are managed by State Investment Officer Ellen Hung and a professional staff headquartered in Lincoln.