Alaska Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum still doesn’t understand his duties as a state employee responsible for overseeing vast sums of public money.

If he did, he wouldn’t be attaching the name and influence of the state Department of Revenue to a private investment fund, the latter promoted by a guy who lavishes praise on Crum as a rising star among the nation’s financial wizards.

Here is the press release in which Crum crosses an important line, oblivious to the appearance it creates of state interference with private enterprise.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Crum’s boss, must be oblivious as well.

“Today, Alaska Commissioner of Revenue Adam Crum, in partnership with Prospr Aligned, announced the launch of The Frontier Economic Fund (NYSE: AKAF), a new investment vehicle focused on companies driving sustainable growth, local job creation, and long-term investment across Alaska.”

“There’s a real alignment happening between Alaska’s strengths and the country’s needs,” Crum said in the press release. “This fund creates a bridge between that momentum and people who want to support it.”

Part of the problem here is that executives of Prospr Aligned and Vident Asset Management, companies involved in this fund, lobbied the state to participate in this venture and registered as lobbyists in Juneau this year.

If this fund is a good idea, let private industry lead the way. But Crum has decided to tip the scales and make it a government-blessed venture. I am not suggesting in any way that Crum has a financial involvement in this. The issue here is the appearance of impropriety and why there must be a clear line between politics and state investments.

Crum, a trustee of the Alaska Permanent Fund, helped set up communication between Prospr Aligned and Marcus Frampton, the chief investment office of the Alaska Permanent Fund.

“APFC doesn’t have anything to do with the Frontier Fund (I believe that is what it is called). At Adam’s request Marcus (Frampton) took a call with them, but no plans to deploy to the fund,” APFC Executive Director Deven Mitchell said in a June 16 email to me after I asked about this matter.

Legislators need to get on this and see whether Crum will direct that state investments be made into this fund.

Prospyr Aligned was founded by Derek Kreifels, a leader of the anti-ESG movement, who seeks to inject right-wing politics into investment decisions.

He says the mission is to “empower conservative investors to shape corporate behavior.”

Kreifels, former Kansas assistant treasurer, was a co-founder of the State Financial Officers Foundation. He is the former CEO of that group.

Crum is now the national vice chair of the State Financial Officers Foundation.

“Adam Crum is a great leader and public servant!” Kreifels said on X last year when the foundation gave Crum the “rising star award.”

Now we have Kreifels’ company saying Crum worked with it to launch the private fund, which was “designed in partnership” with the state.

The reputation and standing of the Alaska Department of Revenue is not something that Crum can loan to a friend to bolster a private business, but that’s what he has done.

Despite the alleged state travel ban, Crum is supposed to take part next week in a bell-ringing ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange promoting Kreifels’ fund.

Kreifels and Vident Asset Management have created what they call the “Alaska Last Frontier Index” of 130 companies. It takes some looking to find the list.

Many of these companies do a tiny part of their business in Alaska and it’s hard to see how or why anyone would consider this an Alaska fund.

The fund promoters say the index features companies with substantial operations or investments in Alaska, but that is a bizarre claim.

Among the holdings are: Microsoft, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Air Canada, Pepsi, McDonald’s, General Motors, KeyCorp, Airbnb, Sherwin-Williams, Denny’s, Yamaha, Amazon, Alphabet, Kawasaki, Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, Cisco, Verizon, GameStop, Motorola, O’Reilly Automotive, Ford, Kroger, Apple, Oracle, American Airlines, Starbucks, Yum!, U-Haul, Target, Domino’s, Hertz, Walgreens, Harley-Davidson, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walt Disney, IBM, Hilton and Honeywell.

The major oil companies, mining and transportation companies operating in Alaska are on the list.

The top 10 holdings, amounting to nearly one-quarter of the weighted index are: General Electric, Uber, DoorDash, Royal Caribbean, Exxon, Kinross, ConocoPhillips, UPS, FedEx and Agnico Eagle Mines.

The “Frontier Economic Fund” is supposed to track the performance of the index.

A competent revenue commissioner would have the sense not to be involved in promoting this private venture.

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Adam Crum uses state position to help launch private investment fund