North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System

North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System

The North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System serves as the primary retirement plan for state employees, teachers, and participating local government workers. The system's assets are pooled and managed alongside other state funds under the North Dakota State Investment Board, with CIO Scott Anderson directing strategy across a portfolio that functions more like a midsized sovereign wealth fund than a conventional state pension. The consolidated structure — merging pension assets with the Legacy Fund, a sovereign wealth vehicle seeded by oil and gas tax revenues — gives North Dakota a capital base disproportionate to its population. The investment portfolio spans public equities, fixed income, and a growing allocation to private markets including real estate, private credit, and real assets. Real estate commitments include positions in the Ares US Real Estate Fund XI, Carlyle Realty Partners X, and the PRISA III core real estate fund managed by PGIM Real Estate. The system also participates in credit strategies through vehicles such as the Cerberus Global NPL Fund II, and operates the in-state North Dakota Real Assets Fund targeting local infrastructure and property investments. Geographic exposure concentrates on North America with selective global credit reach. Governance runs through a layered structure: the NDPERS board oversees plan design and member services under Executive Director Rebecca Fricke, while the State Investment Board — chaired by the sitting governor — provides investment oversight. Day-to-day investment operations sit with the Retirement and Investment Office, led by Executive Director Jodi Smith, with asset management executed by the CIO's team. NDPERS holds membership in the National Association of State Retirement Administrators and the National Council on Teacher Retirement, and has been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association for financial reporting quality. The consolidated investment office structure is the system's genuine differentiator — it allows the pension fund to invest alongside the state's Legacy Fund within a single portfolio, creating scale efficiencies that stand-alone state pension systems cannot replicate. This design reduces external manager fees through larger commitment sizes and eliminates the administrative duplication common in states with separately managed pension and sovereign funds.