State Investment Board staff reports $244 billion in assets, stresses diversification and low-fee indexing

David Schumacher, government and public affairs director for the State Investment Board, told the LEHI 2 board the SIB now manages about $244,000,000,000 in assets and underscored the agency's focus on low fees and diversified portfolios. "We are now up to $244,000,000,000 in, assets," Schumacher said, and later emphasized that the board compares returns to benchmarks to judge performance rather than only looking at raw returns.

Schumacher walked trustees through the board's composition and the agency's asset-allocation approach, describing a mix that includes private equity, public equity, real estate, tangible assets and fixed income. He said retirement funds account for roughly 87% of the money under management and explained that different plans have different time horizons and risk tolerances. "We invest broadly to be diversified and at an extremely low level of fees by doing what we call passive investing," he said.

On returns, Schumacher framed recent strong years in context: 2021 was an unusually high-return year, he said, and the SIB typically measures results against benchmarks to identify whether returns reflect skill or market-wide effects. He also said the agency is examining technological and personnel changes, including how to use artificial intelligence and how to manage senior staff transitions, while maintaining a focus on integrity and professionalism.

The briefing closed with trustees' questions about year-to-date returns and fiscal reporting; Schumacher clarified that a noted 10.7 figure was fiscal-year-to-date and agreed to provide followup details by email when requested.