About the SIC

Converting oil and gas revenue into financial resilience

The New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC) is the state’s sovereign wealth fund.  

Like other sovereign wealth funds across the globe, the SIC’s primary goal is to grow revenue from oil and gas – a non-renewable resource – transforming it into a renewable, sustainable financial engine that serves New Mexicans today, and will continue to support them for generations to come.  

Established by New Mexicans in 1958 to manage excess revenues from oil and gas production, the SIC is currently one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the United States and among the top 30 globally. The SIC’s assets under management have grown to more than $68 billion. 

Here’s how it works:

1. The SIC receives public dollars, in the form of royalties and taxes from natural resources and income from sales and leases of public lands and minerals.  
2. We then invest those public dollars so that funds continue to grow and provide investment revenue to the state. 
3. A portion of investment funds are sent back to New Mexico, supporting the state’s operating budget, and ensuring essential public services and fund beneficiaries receive the financial resources they need to serve New Mexicans.

In fiscal year 2025, we are returning $2.6 billion to the state, or 14% of the state’s budget.  

Returns will only continue to grow, and over the next decade we expect to deliver $38 billion to fund schools, early childhood programs, universities, hospitals and other critical services for New Mexicans.

Furthermore, revenue from oil and gas will decline as non-renewable resources are depleted. Over time, SIC fund distributions will increase to offset this lost revenue. New Mexico’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG) projects that by 2050, SIC distributions will represent a third of New Mexico’s general revenue.

Responsible stewardship of the funds will ensure New Mexicans can continue to receive strong revenue streams that bolster the state’s operating budget as New Mexico works to diversify its economy and become less dependent on oil and gas revenue. 

A process you can trust – by New Mexicans, for New Mexicans

The impressive size of New Mexico’s sovereign wealth fund, and its returns, are made possible in part by our talented team at the SIC – all of whom live right here in New Mexico.  

Our team consults with top tier external advisors in asset classes such as public equity, fixed income, and alternatives like private equity, real estate, private credit, and real returns.  

Alongside the external advisors, our staff makes recommendations to the SIC’s governing body, or Council, which reviews and authorizes commitments of New Mexico’s public dollars to fund managers across the aforementioned asset classes, in a public meeting process.  

The State Investment Council is chaired by the Governor and includes the State Treasurer; the Commissioner of Public Lands; the Secretary for the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration; the Chief Financial Officer for a state university; four public members appointed by the Legislative Council; and two public members appointed by the Governor.  

The State Investment Council meets once per month, at least 10 months out of the year. Meetings are live-streamed and subsequently archived on our YouTube channel for transparency and engagement.  

Agendas, meeting materials, and minutes from the past decade are also available for review on our website.  

The funds we oversee, and the benefits they deliver  

The SIC manages 14 unique funds on behalf of New Mexicans, each providing support for specific state programs.  

For example, in fiscal year 2026 we are funding 28% of public education and 78% of early childhood education. Our funds also support free college for New Mexico residents through the Opportunity Scholarship, free universal childcare, and much more.  

The three largest of the 14 funds we oversee include:  

• Land Grant Permanent Fund ($37B) Established in 1912, the LGPF receives royalties for mineral production on state trust lands. Oil and gas revenues make up about 99% of contributions to this fund. The LGPF is made up of 21 unique public beneficiaries, the largest of which is the Permanent School Fund, which “owns” nearly 90% of the LGPF. In 2025 alone, public schools across the state received more than $1.3 billion in distributions from the LGPF.  

• Severance Tax Permanent Fund ($12B) Created in 1973, the STPF receives severance taxes that are not otherwise used for bonding capacity or to repay interest on capital outlay projects. In FY25, the fund began receiving excess oil and gas taxes and federal royalty payments.   

• Early Childhood Trust Fund ($10B) Created in 2020, the ECTF receives windfall oil and gas tax revenue and federal royalty payments. Because of this fund, which originated with an initial appropriation of $300 million in 2020, New Mexico is the first state in the nation to guarantee free universal childcare for residents, effective November 2025.  

The eleven other funds are as follows:  

• Tax Stabilization Fund ($2B)  

• Higher Education Trust Fund ($1B)  

• Capital Development & Reserve Fund ($607M)  

• Tobacco Settlement Permanent Fund ($425M)   

• Conservation Legacy Permanent Fund ($375M)  

• Water Trust Fund ($216M)  

• Opioid Settlement Restricted Fund ($119M)  

• Behavioral Health Trust Fund ($100M)  

• Rural Libraries Endowment Fund ($35M)   

• Workforce Development & Apprenticeship Trust Fund ($22M)   

• Medicaid Trust Fund (TBD)  

The SIC also manages the investments for 24 New Mexico government entities, which currently have a combined value of nearly $2.9 billion in assets.  

(Note: All values have been updated per the October 2025 Investment Holdings Report.)