SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico’s governor is now calling on the agency charged with investing state funds to pull millions of dollars of investments with potential ties to the Russian government. It comes days after an Albuquerque state senator raised the matter publicly.
In a letter sent out Friday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is urging the State Investment Council (SIC) to “conduct a swift and thorough examination of state portfolios” for investments “that may benefit the Russian government and its supporters in its war against Ukraine.” Calling it “unacceptable,” the Governor’s letter acknowledges New Mexico has “substantial investment that may be directly or indirectly aiding the Russian invasion.”
KRQE News 13 reported Wednesday that as much as $16-million dollars in state investment funds were wrapped up in investments that may have tied to Russia. Some of that money is under the control of the State Investment Council, while some funds are held by the state’s Educational Retirement Board and Public Employees Retirement Association.
Portions of that $7.9 million controlled by the State Investment Council are tied up in index funds, such as the MSCI World ex USA IMI Custom Factor Index. Such funds are large investment baskets that invest in a number of different stocks or other underlying securities. In the case of these specific funds, some of those underlying securities may have varying levels of connections to Russian businesses.
