OHA portfolio grew nearly 30 percent last year

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A portion of the trust fund that pays for Office of Hawaiian Affairs beneficiary programs has grown by nearly 30 percent in the past year, according to a quarterly report issued yesterday to OHA trustees.

The trust fund is fed by the OHA share of revenue from lands ceded from the kingdom of Hawai‘i after it was annexed by the United States. Since Feb. 28, 2003, the fund’s portfolio managed by Russell Investment Group has increased in market value by about 28.7 percent and now is worth about $164 million, according to the report.

The group is proposing shifting about 10 percent of OHA investments into the “private equity” sector. These are privately negotiated investments in companies that generally are not public.

The proposal received the backing of the OHA resource management committee and must be approved by the board of trustees.

Also yesterday, trustee Rowena Akana proposed hiring a second lobbyist to assist efforts to pass the Akaka bill for federal recognition of Native Hawaiians. Last May, OHA hired the Patton Boggs firm to lobby in the Senate, setting aside $450,000 for the contract.

Akana cited a prediction by U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye that the bill could cross over from the Senate in April or May, leaving little time to lobby the House of Representatives.

Trustee Oswald Stender, committee chairman, said Patton Boggs has said "the time is not right" for such a push; the proposal was tabled for two weeks.

However, Akana maintained that talks should begin quickly "so we can be ready to hit the ground running" during the slim window of opportunity that an election year presents. She suggested working with lobbyist Jack Abramoff of the firm Greenberg Traurig.

Akana cited Abramoff's strong connections to House Republican leaders as being among his credentials.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.