The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) is holding a board meeting by Zoom on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. The agenda is short, but the items on it raise serious questions about how public development dollars may be used, what private financial interests may be involved, and how much of the discussion will happen behind closed doors.
The meeting includes an Alaska Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF) presentation, a broad executive session covering Alaska Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Ambler, Port MacKenzie, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) legislative matters, and legal advice, and Resolution G26-08, which would re-establish and annually refresh a $4.5 million due diligence fund for early-stage project review.
What is Alaska Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF)?
The agenda lists an “ AKAF-Presentation-1.pdf n,” but the public agenda does not explain what AKAF is. Publicly available information indicates that AKAF is the ticker symbol for The Frontier Economic Fund, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) marketed as an Alaska-focused investment vehicle.
The Frontier Economic Fund’s website describes AKAF as a fund designed to track The Alaska Last Frontier Index, a rules-based index created by Vident Asset Management to capture the economic footprint of companies with meaningful exposure to Alaska. The fund says it focuses on companies doing business in Alaska through natural resource use, economic development, operational presence, and participation in state-sponsored initiatives.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing for the fund says The Frontier Economic Fund seeks to track the performance of The Alaska Last Frontier Index before fees and expenses. It describes the index as including United States (U.S.) and non-United States listed companies and master limited partnerships (MLPs) with exposure to Alaska through “Alaskan Business Activities,” based on criteria developed by Vident Asset Management.
In other words, AKAF appears to be a private financial product tied to Alaska’s economy, natural resources, infrastructure, and public development priorities.
Who is behind the AKAF presentation?
The AIDEA board packet includes a slide deck from Prospr Aligned, a firm that describes itself as helping investors align capital with their principles. The presentation says Prospr Aligned offers proxy consulting, shareholder engagement, direct indexing, and custom index creation. It also describes its approach as “focusing capital on returns, not politics.”
The slide deck identifies Derek Kreifels as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prospr Aligned and co-founder of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), John Coleman as chairman, Jerry Bowyer as a corporate engagement and proxy voting expert, and Josh Demasi as senior investment specialist.
Prospr Aligned’s own website identifies Derek Kreifels as CEO and describes the company as helping investors align their capital with their principles.
The Prospr slide deck describes services that include proxy voting audits, voting recommendations, shareholder engagement, direct dialogue with corporate management, escalation measures, shareholder proposals, direct indexing, and custom index creation.
That is important because these services involve influence over how investments are managed, how shareholder votes are cast, how companies are pressured or engaged, and how public or institutional assets may be aligned with a particular investment philosophy.
Adam Crum and the launch of The Frontier Economic Fund
The launch of AKAF also involved former Alaska Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum.
A Prospr Aligned release from June 2025 says, “Alaska Commissioner of Revenue Adam Crum and Prospr Aligned announced the launch of The Frontier Economic Fund,” describing AKAF as a new investment vehicle focused on companies driving growth, job creation, and long-term investment across Alaska.
Business Wire reported the same launch, stating that Crum, “in partnership with Prospr Aligned,” announced The Frontier Economic Fund.
Independent Alaska journalist Dermot Cole has reported critically on Crum’s involvement, writing that the AIDEA agenda suggests AIDEA may be looking to do business with the investment firm and that the issue is also slated for closed-door discussion. Dermot Cole also reported that Crum helped launch a private investment fund while serving as commissioner.
That raises basic public-interest questions: Is AIDEA considering investing public funds in AKAF? Is AIDEA considering hiring Prospr Aligned? Is AIDEA considering a consulting, investment, proxy voting, or custom index arrangement? The public packet does not clearly say.
What the Prospr Aligned presentation says
The Prospr Aligned deck describes four primary service areas.
First, proxy voting consulting. Prospr says it can provide proxy voting audits, voting recommendations and strategies, alerts on key votes, and regulatory and trend monitoring. The stated purpose is to ensure proxy votes align with fiduciary duty, governance standards, and client priorities.
Second, corporate engagement services. Prospr says it can help investors directly influence corporate governance and policies through engagement strategy development, direct dialogue with corporate management, escalation measures, shareholder proposals, and reports on corporate responses.
Third, direct indexing. Prospr describes direct indexing as allowing fiduciaries to own individual securities, retain proxy voting rights, and tailor portfolios by geography, sector, values, or proxy alignment preferences.
Fourth, custom index consulting. Prospr says it can help create investment products that align with fiduciary responsibilities, values, and local economic priorities, including regional stock indexes and funds focused on local economic impact.
The presentation’s disclosure page also states that the information is for discussion and illustrative purposes, is not investment advice, and that opinions, proxy voting guidelines, and screening guidelines may change at any time without client consultation.
For a public development authority like AIDEA, that should prompt serious scrutiny. If public money, public investment strategy, or public development priorities are being discussed in connection with AKAF or Prospr Aligned, the public deserves a clear explanation before any action is taken.
Resolution G26-08: A standing $4.5 million due diligence fund
The other major agenda item is Resolution-G26-08.pdf , which would reconstitute and maintain a standing $4.5 million due diligence fund for AIDEA.
The resolution says the fund may be used for initial planning, due diligence, pre-feasibility review, feasibility assessment, financial analysis, legal review, technical review, engineering review, environmental and permitting assessment, market analysis, commercial analysis, risk assessment, valuation, site analysis, concept planning, transaction structuring, and related activities for potential AIDEA projects.
The resolution would authorize AIDEA to hire consultants, financial advisors, attorneys, engineers, technical experts, market analysts, environmental and permitting professionals, appraisers, economists, and other professionals to evaluate potential projects and opportunities selected by the executive director.
It would also authorize AIDEA to enter into pre-development agreements, cost-sharing agreements, reimbursement agreements, confidentiality agreements, access agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other preliminary arrangements with private companies, public entities, tribal entities, nonprofit entities, project sponsors, developers, borrowers, investors, and other parties.
This fund is broad enough to cover almost anything
Resolution G26-08 is not narrow, it applies to a sweeping list of potential projects and activities, including infrastructure, industrial development, commercial development, natural resource development, energy projects, Arctic infrastructure, transportation systems, roads, rail, ports, airports, logistics facilities, utilities, telecommunications, broadband, technology infrastructure, data centers, manufacturing, processing, tourism-supporting infrastructure, housing-supporting infrastructure, land and project site development, public-private partnerships, and other economic development activities. The board memo says the resolution does not approve any individual project. Instead, it authorizes management to conduct preliminary work to decide whether a project should receive further consideration.
That distinction is important, but it does not eliminate concern. Early-stage due diligence is often where major decisions begin to take shape. It determines which projects get staff time, consultant contracts, financial modeling, legal review, environmental analysis, and access to public development tools before the public ever sees a formal project proposal.
The annual refresh mechanism
Resolution G26-08 would not simply create a one-time fund. It would allow the executive director to refresh and reconstitute the due diligence fund back to a target balance of $4.5 million at the beginning of each fiscal year, unless the board directs otherwise.
The money could come from the Revolving Fund, the Sustainable Energy and Transmission Fund, the Arctic Infrastructure Development Fund, or other legally available AIDEA funds, as determined by the executive director in consultation with the chief financial officer and legal counsel.
The resolution says AIDEA may seek reimbursement from project sponsors, developers, borrowers, private partners, or other parties when appropriate, but reimbursement is not required before due diligence funds are spent.
That means AIDEA could spend public development resources on early-stage work for projects that may never move forward, may never be reimbursed, and may not be fully visible to the public until much later.
The executive session problem
At the same meeting, AIDEA is scheduled to go into executive session for confidential and deliberative matters related to AKAF, ANWR, Ambler, Port MacKenzie, AIDEA legislative matters, and other matters related to AIDEA, including matters subject to legal advice.
Some legal discussions may properly occur in executive session, but the scope of this agenda item is extremely broad. It includes several of the most controversial and consequential issues before AIDEA, including Arctic Refuge leasing, the Ambler Road, Port MacKenzie, and now AKAF.
The public should not have to guess whether AIDEA is considering investing public funds in a private ETF, hiring a values-aligned investment firm, advancing a custom index or proxy voting strategy, or using public due diligence funds to support private financial arrangements.
AIDEA should explain, in public, what AKAF is, why it is on the agenda, what action or future action is being considered, and whether Resolution G26-08 funds could be used for any AKAF-related due diligence, consulting, transaction work, or investment analysis.
Questions AIDEA should answer before any vote
AIDEA should answer the following questions publicly:
- What does “AKAF” mean on the July 8 agenda?
- Is AKAF The Frontier Economic Fund?
- Is AIDEA considering investing public funds in AKAF?
- Is AIDEA considering hiring Prospr Aligned, Vident Asset Management, or any related entity?
- Has AIDEA already met with Prospr Aligned, Vident, Adam Crum, or representatives of AKAF?
- Would Resolution G26-08 funds be available for AKAF-related due diligence, consulting, legal review, investment analysis, transaction structuring, or other early-stage work?
- Will AIDEA disclose any contracts, scopes of work, consultant fees, memoranda, reimbursement agreements, or confidentiality agreements related to AKAF, Prospr Aligned, or Vident?
- How much of the quarterly reporting on the due diligence fund will be public?
- How much will be placed in executive session?
- Will affected communities and Tribal governments be consulted before due diligence funds are used on projects involving ANWR, Ambler, Port MacKenzie, Arctic infrastructure, data centers, roads, ports, or natural resource development?
- How will AIDEA evaluate environmental, subsistence, cultural, climate, community, and financial risks before spending public funds on early-stage project development?
Public development finance must be public
AIDEA was created to serve a public purpose. Its decisions can shape Alaska’s economy, lands, waters, communities, and public finances for generations. That responsibility requires transparency.
The July 8 agenda raises more questions than it answers. AIDEA is considering a broad, annually refreshed $4.5 million due diligence fund at the same meeting where it is receiving an AKAF presentation and planning a closed-door discussion of AKAF, ANWR, Ambler, Port MacKenzie, legislative matters, and legal advice.
If public money may be used to advance private investment products, controversial infrastructure projects, Arctic development, data centers, roads, ports, or natural resource extraction, Alaskans deserve to know before decisions are made, not after.
How to comment
AIDEA is accepting written public comments. Written comments should be emailed to: Communications@aidea.org
AIDEA asks that written comments be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. the day before the meeting so they can be shared with board members before the meeting.
Members of the public may also provide oral comment by Zoom or phone. When calling in, participants will enter the teleconference muted. After board roll call and agenda approval, callers will be asked to press *9 if they wish to make a public comment. Callers will be unmuted individually in the order received.
Meeting: Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Board Meeting
Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Zoom: https://aidea-org.zoom.us/s/83177916017
Phone: 1-253-215-8782
Webinar ID: 831 7791 6017
Please check aidea.org for updates to the meeting start time or agenda.