By LCN Business Desk
A statutory committee, two seats short, advising on a fund held entirely in cash.
The Act names the seven seats one by one. The gazette fills five of them and leaves the other two marked TBD. The two it leaves are the two the Act is most specific about.
What does the Act require?
The Act requires seven members, each drawn from a named source.
Section 8(1) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, Act No. 19 of 2021, provides that the Investment Committee "shall consist of the following seven members appointed by the Minister", and then lists them:
| Section 8(1) | The seat |
|---|---|
| (a) | A nominee of the Minister, who is the Chairperson |
| (b) | A nominee of the minister responsible for the petroleum sector |
| (c) | A nominee of the Attorney General |
| (d) | A nominee of the Leader of the Opposition |
| (e) | A nominee of the private sector |
| (f)(i) | The Senior Investment Adviser and Analyst, ex officio non-voting |
| (f)(ii) | A nominee of the Governor of the Bank, ex officio non-voting |
Source: Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, section 8(1).
Section 8(2) sets a qualification floor for members: "at least ten years' experience and expertise in financial investments and financial portfolio management" and "a minimum of a master's degree from a reputable university in the discipline of finance or economics, or an equivalent professional qualification."
Who was appointed?
Five people are named, and two entries read TBD.
The Government Notice published in the Extraordinary Gazette of 20 August 2026 records Cabinet's approval, on Memorandum CP(2026)MOF13/08, of members for four years from 31 August 2026 to 31 August 2030.
| Seat under section 8(1) | Named |
|---|---|
| (a) Chairperson | Ms Shaleeza Shaw |
| (b) Petroleum | Mr Michael Munroe |
| (c) Attorney General | Mr Lauris Hukumchand |
| (d) Leader of the Opposition | TBD |
| (e) Private sector | Mr Richard Rambarran |
| (f)(i) Senior Investment Adviser and Analyst | TBD |
| (f)(ii) Governor of the Bank | Mr Ganesh Sugrim |
Source: Government Notice, Reappointment of Members the Natural Resources Fund Investment Committee, Official Gazette (Extraordinary) of 20 August 2026, Legal Supplement B, signed by Ms Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.
The two entries marked TBD correspond exactly to paragraphs (d) and (f)(i). One is the opposition's seat. The other is the committee's only in-house investment professional, and under section 10 that appointment is the Board of Directors' to make, subject to the Minister's approval.
What is the committee for?
Advising the Board of Directors on how the fund is invested.
Section 9(1) makes the committee "responsible for advising the Board of Directors on the Investment Mandate referred to in section 5". In doing so it must take account of twelve listed matters. Four of them describe the shape the fund is meant to take.
"(e) the principle of financial diversification with the objective of maximising risk-adjusted financial returns"
"(f) the need for the Fund, in the long term, to achieve on average over a number of years a real total return of at least three percent per annum, in United States Dollars, while minimising risk"
"(g) the need for the Fund to follow a strategic asset allocation strategy whereby over time as the balance of the Fund increases the percentage of the Fund invested in low risk eligible asset classes decreases and the percentage of the Fund invested in higher risk eligible asset classes increases"
"(h) the need for the Fund to avoid tactical asset allocation"
Section 2 defines seven eligible asset classes the fund may hold: an eligible bank deposit, commodity, corporate bond, equity, derivative, treasury bill and sovereign bond.
How does that sit against the fund as reported?
The balance has grown and the portfolio has not changed.
The Natural Resource Fund's own monthly report for September 2026 records a total cash portfolio of 100 per cent of assets, a balance of US$5,472,911,327.29, and a return of 2.693 per cent year to date, 3.606 per cent annualised, and 2.723 per cent annualised since inception. Its benchmark and excess-return rows are blank.
| Eligible asset classes defined by the Act | Seven |
| Asset classes held, per the September report | Cash |
| Fund balance, 1 January 2026 | about US$3.25 billion |
| Fund balance, 30 September 2026 | US$5.47 billion |
Source: Natural Resource Fund monthly reports, January to September 2026; Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, section 2.
Section 9(1)(g) describes a share in low-risk classes that falls as the balance rises. The balance rose by about US$2.2 billion over those nine months, which was examined in Guyana's Oil Fund Took In US$3.88 Billion in Nine Months.
The two return figures are not comparable, and should not be netted. Section 9(1)(f) sets a real total return in United States dollars, averaged over a number of years and expressly framed as a long-term objective rather than an annual test. The monthly reports publish a nominal return and no benchmark against which to read it.
What is the committee required to produce?
It must give the Board written advice at least once a year.
Section 9(2) requires the committee's advice to be "contained in written reports submitted to the Board of Directors at least annually or within twenty working days of the Board of Directors requesting such advice". Section 9(3) requires it to submit a report on its activities to the Board "within thirty working days of the end of every fiscal year".
What does this mean for the rest of the Caribbean?
That a sovereign fund's governing statute can be read against its own monthly statement, line for line, by anyone.
Guyana's Act names the seats, the qualifications, the asset classes, the return objective and the direction of travel for allocation. The fund publishes a one-page statement every month carrying the balance, the flows and the return. Both are public, and the second can be checked against the first without anybody's cooperation.
Where that money sits was examined in Guyana's Oil Fund Is US$5.4 Billion. All of It Sits Overnight at the New York Fed, and measured against three other oil funds in Three Oil Funds Published Their Returns, which also recorded the August reappointments. What arrives in the fund each quarter was itemised in Twenty-Two Cargo Liftings Account for 94 Per Cent of It.
The entities
- Natural Resource Fund Act 2021 is Act No. 19 of 2021, gazetted 30 December 2021.
- Investment Committee is the body section 8 establishes to advise on the Investment Mandate.
- Board of Directors of the Natural Resource Fund receives the committee's advice.
- Shaleeza Shaw is the Chairperson named in the 20 August 2026 Government Notice.
- Michael Munroe, Lauris Hukumchand, Richard Rambarran and Ganesh Sugrim are the other named members.
- Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, signed the notice.
- Senior Investment Adviser and Analyst is the ex officio seat under section 8(1)(f)(i), appointed by the Board under section 10.
What the title card shows
Every data point on the article's title card, in text.
- Seven. Members the Act requires on the Investment Committee. Source: Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, section 8(1).
- Five. Seats filled by name in the Government Notice of 20 August 2026. Source: that notice.
- TBD. The entry against the Leader of the Opposition's nominee, and against the Senior Investment Adviser and Analyst. Source: as above.
- Three per cent. The real total return in United States dollars the Act sets as a long-term objective. Source: Act, section 9(1)(f).
- 100 per cent. The share of the fund held as cash in the September 2026 monthly report. Source: that report.
- Quotation: "the need for the Fund to follow a strategic asset allocation strategy whereby over time as the balance of the Fund increases the percentage of the Fund invested in low risk eligible asset classes decreases". Act, section 9(1)(g).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many members should Guyana's Natural Resource Fund Investment Committee have?
Seven. Section 8(1) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021 lists each seat and its nominating source.
How many are filled?
Five are named in the Government Notice of 20 August 2026. Two are recorded as TBD: the nominee of the Leader of the Opposition, and the Senior Investment Adviser and Analyst.
Who are the named members?
Ms Shaleeza Shaw as Chairperson, Mr Michael Munroe for the petroleum minister, Mr Lauris Hukumchand for the Attorney General, Mr Richard Rambarran for the private sector, and Mr Ganesh Sugrim as the Governor of the Bank's ex officio non-voting nominee.
What qualifications must members hold?
At least ten years' experience and expertise in financial investments and financial portfolio management, and a minimum of a master's degree in finance or economics or an equivalent professional qualification.
What does the Act say the fund should earn?
Section 9(1)(f) directs the committee to take account of the need for the fund, in the long term and on average over a number of years, to achieve a real total return of at least three per cent per annum in United States dollars while minimising risk.
Is that the same as the return in the monthly reports?
No. The Act's figure is a real return averaged over years. The monthly reports publish a nominal return, 2.693 per cent year to date and 2.723 per cent annualised since inception in the September 2026 report, with no benchmark stated.
What may the fund invest in?
Section 2 defines seven eligible asset classes: eligible bank deposits, commodities, corporate bonds, equities, derivatives, treasury bills and sovereign bonds. The September 2026 report records the portfolio as 100 per cent cash.
How long does the current committee serve?
Four years, from 31 August 2026 to 31 August 2030, under Cabinet Memorandum CP(2026)MOF13/08.