BISMARCK – A proposal to invest a portion of North Dakota’s Legacy Fund principal in interest-earning investments in North Dakota is expected to generate discussion by the State Investment Board when it meets in October.

Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, a member of the board, offered a plan that establishes a North Dakota Investment Advisory Committee to review and recommend viable investment opportunities within the state. Currently, the $7 billion Legacy Fund is invested almost entirely outside of North Dakota and the United States. North Dakota voters created the Legacy Fund in 2010 with a portion of oil and gas taxes.

“The proposed advisory committee will welcome investments in North Dakota that can provide a market rate of return, assist in the diversification of our state’s economy and get a multiplier effect with monies circulating in our communities,” Godfread said. “A North Dakota-based investment group will better understand our economy and how to grow it.”

The new Investment Advisory Committee would serve as a subcommittee of the State Investment Board and would include the three statewide elected officials serving on the investment board, along with the president of the Bank of North Dakota.

Godfread formally presented the plan to the investment board on Sept. 25. The 11-member board includes the lieutenant governor, treasurer, insurance commissioner, executive director of Workforce Safety & Insurance, land commissioner, three representatives of Public Employees Retirement System and three representatives of Teachers Fund for Retirement.