South Dakota Investment Council

The South Dakota Investment Council is a public pension fund that manages the financial assets of the State of South Dakota. The organization is based out of Sioux Falls and was founded in 1971 when the Investment Council was established by the South Dakota Legislature. The laws that govern the operations of the South Dakota Investment Council and the Division of Investment are specified by the South Dakota Codified Laws. There are 8 voting members on its Board with 5 being chosen by the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council, a bipartisan board composed of members from both houses of the Legislature, and the remaining 3 members being the State Treasurer, the Commissioner of School and Public Lands and a designee of the South Dakota Retirement System Board of Trustees. The responsibilities of the board include appoint and evaluating the State Investment Officer, developing investment policy and establishing asset allocation guidelines, monitoring the implementation of the investment proves, and overseeing the audit process through the Audit Committee. The assets that the South Dakota Investment Council manage includes contributions from the South Dakota Retirement System, the consolidated defined benefit plan for public employees; South Dakota Cement Plant Retirement Fund, the defined benefit retirement plan for the previously state-owned cement plant; South Dakota Cash Flow Fund, the state checking accounts that is comprised of over 250 participating accounts; School & Public Lands Fund; Dakota Cement Trust Fund, established from the net proceeds from the sale of the South Dakota Cement Plant; Education Enhancement Trust Fund; Healthcare Trust Fund; and Higher Education Savings 529 Plan. The council holds over $5 billion in total assets and invests most heavily in the finance sector, which alone makes up a fifth of its asset allocations, and also invests in the information technology, health care, consumer discretionary, and energy sectors, among others to a lesser degree, in order of decreasing allocation.