Alabama Trust Fund

The Alabama Trust Fund (ATF) is the wealth fund of the U.S. state of Alabama and was established in 1985 in response to a major offshore natural gas discovery in 1978. The fund is funded by royalty payments that are received each month from oil and gas companies and its assets total around $2.5 billion.^[1] The fund is invested in both fixed income and equities and is under the jurisdiction of the treasury of the State of Alabama. The fund is managed by external managers chosen by the board of trustees.^[1] The ATF’s nine-member board is chaired by Governor Kay Ivey.^[2]

In 2012, a constitutional amendment was proposed that would take $145.8 million a year for three years from the trust fund’s principal to help balance the state General Fund budget, but the board was divided over whether this amendment should be adopted.^{[3][needs update]}