The North Carolina Investment Authority (NCIA) met today and approved a Board of Directors charter, policy manual and budget — key steps needed to transfer statutory investment powers and duties from the Department of State Treasurer (DST) to the authority, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The current investment team reported to the authority assets under management in the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS) grew to a record $139.1 billion as of Sept. 30, a steep increase over the 2024 year-end market value of $126.5 billion.
That announcement was accompanied by news that the calendar year to date estimated NCRS investment return of about 11% outperformed a 6.5% assumed rate of return. The strong showing was credited to a mixture of a robust market, and strategic decisions. (See table below for recent investments)
“Today is a big day in North Carolina’s financial history,” said State Treasurer Brad Briner, who chairs the NCIA. “We’ve come a long way since January, but we have much more to do.” Treasurer Briner’s advocacy of ending the sole fiduciary status of the state treasurer, in which he had the power to make investment decisions, and shifting that control to a five-member authority instead, led to the General Assembly passing a law to achieve his goal.
“It’s a watershed event in terms of governance,” said DST Chief Investment Officer and Deputy Treasurer Kevin SigRist, who is Interim CIO of NCIA. “We want to set high expectations and do our best to meet those.”
The authority approved a proposed budget of $26.1 million for fiscal year 2025-26 for the NCIA. The Personnel Services component of the budget had the largest increase of which 65% was due to headcount rising and 35% due to adoption of a market compensation study.
The authority received a market compensation study from Mercer, a consulting firm. Salary levels need to be competitive to attract, retain and motivate the right people to meet long-term investment goals for the retirement systems, according to Mercer. The study showed a majority of Investment Management Division salaries had fallen below the 25th percentile of the market. The new pay-for-performance model would set base salaries at the median market level with an additional incentive bonus structure to be designed and adopted in 2026.
About NCIA:
The North Carolina Investment Authority was created by the General Assembly under the 2025 State Investment Modernization Act. It is governed by a Board of Directors and chaired by the elected State Treasurer.
Exhibit: Select Investment Commitments Since August 27, 2025 NCIA Meeting
