Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt voted to award a lucrative investment advisory contract to a firm owned by his former chief of staff and one-time business partner — a company that has the power to steer more than $2 billion in state pension, endowment and sovereign wealth fund money. As chairman o f the newly created Invest in Oklahoma board, Stitt cast his vote Feb. 17 in favor of 311 Capital Management LLC, a firm launched by Bond Payne. Payne served as Stitt’s chief of staff from 2020 to 2022 and previously partnered with the governor on a major downtown Oklahoma City real estate project. Stitt and State Treasurer Todd Russ both said the selection followed a competitive bidding process. Yet board discussions made no mention of Payne’s ties to the governor, and the contract positions Payne’s firm to earn fees from any successful in-state investments it brings before the board. Stitt was also an early investor in JRB Citizen LLC, which owns The Citizen building in downtown Oklahoma City, according to the governor’s 2024 personal financial disclosure documents filed with the state Ethics Commission. Payne started JRB Citizen in 2019, and the 12-story Citizen opened in 2025.  None of the discussions about the investment advisor bids at the February Invest in Oklahoma board meeting mentioned Payne or his previous business ties to Stitt. Three companies responded to a request for proposal through the state treasurer’s office: 311 Capital, MEMCO and GCM Grosvernor. MEMCO manages investments for the Oklahoma State University Foundation and the Utah state treasurer.  Responding to questions from Oklahoma Watch, Chief of Staff Donelle Harder said Stitt filed updated financial disclosure statements with the Ethics Commission on April 9, 2026, to reflect that he no longer had a business interest in JRB Citizen. Annual financial disclosures are due May 15 for elected officials and some state officers for the previous calendar year.  “Kevin Stitt held a passive minority interest in JRB Citizen related to the construction of the Citizens building in Midtown, and his interest was fully divested in June 2024, after construction was complete,” Harder said in a written statement. “Kevin Stitt holds no financial interest today in any entity owned by Bond Payne.”  Russ’ office initially issued a request for proposal for investment advisors in November. But just one company, 311 Capital, responded to that request. The treasurer’s office scrapped the request and put out a new request for proposal in January.  In the Feb. 17 meeting, Russ led the board’s discussions over picking an investment advisor, with much of the focus on the fees the state would need to pay the advisor. Russ said the Legislature put the board and program under the treasurer’s office, but they didn’t provide any dedicated funding.  Russ recommended the board hire 311 Capital Management, largely because the company said it wouldn’t charge any upfront fees and instead negotiate its fees with any entities it brought to the Invest in Oklahoma board. 311 Capital would generate its fees from any successful investments made by the pension systems or trust funds.  In an interview Thursday, April 9, 2026, Russ said he wasn’t aware of Stitt’s personal investments. But he said most of the discussions about the 311 Capital request for proposal came with Steve McDonnold, the managing partner. Russ said he was disappointed more companies didn’t respond to the request for proposal.  “We definitely went through the competitive bid process, and as a matter of fact, we went through it twice,” Russ said. “We had every reason to make absolutely certain to make sure this was  above board and we didn’t have any special arrangement for anybody.”   The fiscal year 2027 budget deal among Stitt and Republican legislative leaders includes the formation of a $200 million Taxpayer Endowment Trust Fund. Modeled after sovereign wealth funds in other states and countries, it would come under the Invest in Oklahoma board. Details of the fund are still being drafted in House Bill 4072.  Stitt said he hoped the fund would deliver regular earnings to support the state’s general revenue to protect core services and keep the state on a path to eliminate the state income tax.  “This is a fund to lock up savings for generations,” Stitt said April 1 at a press conference with Republican lawmakers. “Just like sovereign wealth funds in other states like Alaska and Texas and Wyoming, we think it’s really important that we protect this savings account and we invest it for future Oklahomans. The Legislature has agreed to provide dedicated funding sources so that account and that sovereign wealth fund will grow to over a billion dollars.”   Invest in Oklahoma Plan Progresses Slowly  For years, Stitt and Republican lawmakers have urged state pension funds and trusts to consider Oklahoma-based asset managers, investment advisers and investment funds. They said there’s been an overreliance of large investment firms outside of Oklahoma. Lawmakers passed the Invest in Oklahoma Act in 2021. It allows state pensions and endowment trusts to invest up to 5% of their assets in Oklahoma-based private equity, venture capital and growth funds.  The Invest in Oklahoma program originally came under the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, but was moved to the Oklahoma Center for Advancement in Science and Technology in 2024. Lawmakers moved it again last year, this time under the state treasurer’s office.  A five-member board oversees the Invest in Oklahoma program. It’s composed of Stitt, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, Russ and legislative appointees Brady Sidwell and Zack Hall.  State pension funds, as well as boards managing school land and tobacco endowment settlement money, each have governing boards that have been free to make direct investments as part of a diverse portfolio as long as they meet fiduciary requirements to benefit the fund.  Executives from Oklahoma City-based Humphreys Capital secured funding commitments last year from Oklahoma pension systems and trusts totaling $60 million for its Humphreys Fund V. That real estate investment fund had a $200 million target for investments in multifamily and build-to-rent residential developments, as well as industrial and retail projects. Ed. Note: This story was updated on April 9, 2026, to clarify that the company is not required to direct the $2 billion, but that it could. Paul Monies has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2017 and covers state agencies and public health. Contact him at (571) 319-3289 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @pmonies.  The post Oklahoma Governor’s Vote Steered $2 Billion Advisory Role to Former Business Partner’s Firm appeared first on Oklahoma Watch. ...read more read less