Information Regarding Russian and Belarusian Investments held by the Minnesota State Board of Investment

February 22, 2023
 
During the 2022 legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature passed Minnesota Statutes Section 11A.245, which generally requires the SBI to liquidate its holdings in companies with their principal place of business in Russia or Belarus to the extent it is practicable. 

In response to the legislation, the SBI has appointed an investment manager to manage the liquidation of SBI’s affected Russian and Belarusian holdings. As of April 2, 2022, the effective date of the legislation, MSBI held affected Russian and Belarusian securities with an estimated market value of $3.6 million. During the period from April 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, the liquidation manager sold 26 securities (including partial sales) from the divestment list. As of December 31, 2022, 27 holdings remained on the divestment list, with an estimated market value of $1.1 million, reflecting that the SBI has divested nearly 70% of the market value of affected Russian and Belarusian securities it held as of the effective date of Minnesota Statutes Section 11A.245. 

While the liquidation manager continues to make efforts to sell the remaining holdings, its ability to sell these securities is severely limited by both ongoing and newly imposed limitations in market liquidity due to trading restrictions stemming from economic sanctions. In particular, the market for Russian locally-listed equity securities remains effectively closed to U.S. investors, Russian sanctions aimed at restricting foreign capital flows remain in place, and more recently, the market for most Russian government bonds has become restricted to U.S. investors. SBI continues to closely monitor market and regulatory developments to assess opportunities to liquidate its remaining affected Russian and Belarusian holdings.

Thank you,

Jill E. Schurtz
Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer

April 1, 2022

In response to inquiries regarding facts associated with investments in Russia and Belarus held by the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI), the following is a brief summary of the pertinent facts.

  • The SBI holds stocks (aka equities), bonds (aka fixed income), foreign currency and has a small interest in private market vehicles issued by entities from Russia and Belarus.

  • These securities are held in the portfolio of the state retirement plans (“the Combined Funds”), and are not state assets, but rather assets held in trust for the participants and beneficiaries of Minnesota state retirement plans.

  • Listed below are the market values of these assets on days previously noted by SBI Staff.

Date

Market Value
($Mil) estimated

Estimated % of
Combined Funds
12/31/2021 $240  0.25%
  1/31/2022 $191 0.21%
  2/23/2022 $139  0.15%
  2/28/2022 $52    0.06%
  3/11/2022 $15    0.02%
  3/28/2022 $4    <0.01%

  • The decline in the value of these securities is due to a combination of decreased valuations of the securities and the sale of some of these holdings by investment management organizations employed by the SBI.

  • As a result of the situation in Ukraine and the sanctions issued by the United States and Russia, the ability to sell these securities is limited by market and regulatory factors.  The Russian local equity market remains closed to foreign holders and the Russian government has placed restrictions on sales of certain securities by foreign holders.  As a result, prices for most securities have been marked down to near zero, reflecting the high uncertainty of when or if any value can be recouped.

  • Effective March 25, 2022, the SBI has restricted managers from purchasing additional Russian and Belarusian securities until further notice.

  • The SBI Staff is continuing to assess market and regulatory conditions in order to determine the appropriate investment actions if and when liquidity returns to the market The SBI will develop a strategy to enable the Staff and the external investment managers holding Russian and Belarusian investments in the SBI’s portfolio to execute any legal or regulatory mandates.

 

Thank you,

Mansco Perry III
Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer