Permanent Fund Corp. board member resigns after email controversy

Ellie Rubenstein, the investment manager at the center of an email leak affecting the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board of trustees, is resigning from her seat on the board, she said Wednesday.

In May, a series of leaked emails suggested some corporation employees felt pressured by investment suggestions offered by Rubenstein. Those suggestions could represent a conflict of interest, they said.

Following the email leak, the six-person board — which governs the $81 billion investment portfolio held by the Alaska Permanent Fund — voted to investigate the source of the leak, and Rubenstein became chair of a governance committee charged with drafting rules that govern interactions between staff and members of the board.

In response to the board’s actions, state lawmakers held a public hearing and questioned the board’s direction of the corporation.

Rubenstein is two years into a four-year term on the board and said through a spokesperson that her work on the board takes a large amount of time and she needs to focus on her private equity company, Manna Tree.

“That’s the impetus for resigning,” said the spokesperson, Christopher Ullman.

Her resignation is effective Aug. 1.

Rubenstein’s decision also comes shortly after Gov. Mike Dunleavy reappointed board chair Ethan Schutt. One of the leaked messages said Rubenstein had spoken to Dunleavy and that he did not intend to reappoint Schutt.

Asked whether the timing of Rubenstein’s resignation was due to the leaked emails, the reappointment or other factors, Ullman said, “Ellie has concluded that the scope and pace of change necessary to fully institutionalize the Permanent Fund are not compatible with the demands of leading her private equity firm.”

While Rubenstein was a member of the board, it re-established a bonus program for high-performing Permanent Fund employees, opened a controversial Anchorage office and raised the fund’s target for private equity investments, which are not publicly traded.