Treasurer Briner uncovers $170M in unspent taxpayer money

North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner announced on Thursday that his office has found $170 million in unspent and unallocated funds.

The discovery was made as part of a detailed review of the state’s accounts.

“The most important part of the Treasurer’s job is to review and maintain the finances of North Carolina,” he said in a press release. “Through our review, we found $170 million of cash that has been sitting idle in the state’s accounts for years. That money can be put to good use, and we intend to do exactly that – reducing our outstanding debt to improve the fiscal health of the state.”

The treasurer thanked the State and Local Government Finance Division team and Jeff Poley for their roles in finding the assets.

His office said that by law, the money can only be used to refund debt, fund capital projects approved by the General Assembly, and, in some instances, projects approved by the state’s voters.

Briner said he has focused on increasing the department’s operational efficiency and effectiveness since taking office.

“The Department has undergone reviews of internal policies, procedures, and practices with the goal of producing greater returns for North Carolina,” he said. “The uncovering of these funds is the latest achievement resulting from these efforts.”

Nc investment authority board holds inaugural meeting

Briner also announced on Wednesday that the North Carolina Investment Authority Board (NCIA) held its first organizational meeting.

The NCIA was created by the 2025 State Investment Modernization Act, which became law in June. It will revamp how the state manages its $200 billion in public funds, including $129 billion from the North Carolina Retirement Systems, cash management, and other funds.

The state treasurer had served as the sole fiduciary but now will chair the Board of Trustees.

Briner campaigned on the change last year, saying he believes small groups make better investment decisions than individuals. He also believes the sole fiduciary model has the potential for corruption as only one person can make decisions without a set of checks and balances.

“We’re excited to change the way that we do things so that we can deliver a better performance,” he said on a media call in March. “If you go to that accountability metrics page (on the treasurer’s office website), you’ll see on the Investment Management Division, we have not been delivering the investment performance we need to deliver to make the pension work. This is our attempt to change that.”

At the bill signing in June, Briner said that doing things the previous way has also came at a cost to the taxpayers.

“It will have profound differences for our state over long periods of time,” he said. “If we can deliver 1% more, we will be able to deliver $2 billion a year more to our state budget, and that is why we’re doing this.” 

Democrat Gov. Josh Stein emphasized the significance of the new law at the bill signing, noting that it brings more voices to the table when it comes to making decisions about the state’s retirement system. 

“Currently, our state investment decisions are made by only one person, our state treasurer,” he said. “Very few states have this system of what we call a sole fiduciary for making decisions about the hard-working state employees’ pensions. And while I trust that Treasurer Briner would do an excellent job if he kept this authority to himself, he and I share a belief that this process will be stronger when more voices are involved.” 

Treasurer Briner is joined on the board by Dan Ward and Mark Roberts, who were nominated to the NCIA by the State Senate and State House, respectively. Ward is the former CIO for the Virginia Tech Foundation and is currently the CIO at Greenhawk Family Office. Roberts is the chief investment officer of Ironside Asset Advisors. He also previously served as the Director of Global Equities and Hedged Strategies for the North Carolina Retirement Systems.  

Briner also nominated Stephanie Lynch as his nominee to NCIA. Lynch is co-founder and managing partner at Global Endowment Management. She was formerly the chief investment officer at The Duke Endowment and a portfolio manager at both INVESCO Capital Management and Trade Street Investment Services.  Her nomination needs to be confirmed by the General Assembly before she can be seated on the board.

Stein will nominate the final board member, who must also be confirmed by legislators.

With most of the board seated, members voted to name Kevin SigRist to serve as the interim chief investment officer of NCIA. He currently serves as the Department of State Treasurer CIO and Investment Management Division deputy treasurer.

The board will meet on Nov. 19 to complete policies, charters, and other matters needed before the new investment structure goes into effect on Jan. 1.

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