Who runs a sovereign wealth fund?
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country's surplus reserves. SWFs provide a benefit for a country's economy and its citizens. The funding for a SWF can come from a variety of sources.
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country's surplus reserves. SWFs provide a benefit for a country's economy and its citizens. The funding for a SWF can come from a variety of sources.
Some countries may have more than one SWF. Also, while the United States does not have a federal sovereign wealth fund, several of its states have their own SWFs. The list does not include pension funds that do not meet the SWF criteria.
sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) government-owned funds that purchase private assets in foreign markets. commodity SWFs. funded with revenues generated by state-owned oil companies in the Gulf states and Norway.
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are government-backed entities which invest foreign currency reserves. Although visibility into their investments has improved, many remain opaque compared with other institutional investors.
A key figure of investment funds is the fund manager. As the term suggests, this is the company that is responsible for managing the fund, i.e. for deciding how, where, how much and when to invest the capital deposited by the unit holders.
Sovereign wealth funds typically allocate their assets across four investment classes: (1) cash and equivalents; (2) fixed-income securities; (3) global, public equities; and (4) alternative investments, which include direct/private equity, venture capital and hedge fund, real estate, and infrastructure investments.
1. Government Pension Fund Global—Norway. Even though its name has the word pension fund, Norway's sovereign wealth fund is the largest in the world and with over $1 trillion in assets it is growing fast.
“Technology stocks in particular performed very well,” he added. Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, was established in the 1990s to invest the surplus revenues of the country's oil and gas sector.
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), also known as a social wealth fund, is the surplus money that a country accrues over time. The government-backed pool of funds is mostly funded from a country's foreign exchange reserves. Other sources of funds for an SWF account include: Bank reserves.
Are sovereign wealth funds risky?
All SWFs exhibit redemption risks lower than the market average, but that redemption risk is not zero. Because of their dual mission to generate financial as well as social returns, their redemption risk is most probably higher than that of other long-term investors, such as endowment funds.
Despite the advantages, SWFs are not without their drawbacks. One concern is the potential for mismanagement and corruption. Poor governance and lack of transparency can lead to funds being misappropriated or invested in risky ventures, resulting in significant financial losses.

Many nations use sovereign wealth funds as a way to accrue profit for the benefit of the nation's economy and its citizens. The primary functions of a sovereign wealth fund are to stabilize the country's economy through diversification and to generate wealth for future generations.
Section 892 generally exempts foreign governments (and their sovereign wealth funds and other affiliates) from United States federal income tax on certain types of income, including certain income from stocks, bonds, and other securities.
Under section 892 of the tax code, foreign governments are exempted from this withholding tax on certain types of payments (the “892 benefit”). This includes their instrumentalities, such as subnational governments and, most importantly, sovereign wealth funds.
Treasury securities—including Treasury bills, notes, and bonds—are debt obligations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury securities are considered one of the safest investments because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
The world's largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF) as of December 2022 was China Investment Corporation (CIC), managing assets reaching around 1.35 trillion U.S. dollars. The CIC is used to manage a portion of China's foreign currency reserves and established in 2007.
- Stocks.
- Real Estate.
- Private Credit.
- Junk Bonds.
- Index Funds.
- Buying a Business.
- High-End Art or Other Collectables.
Funds are regulated financial entities and require a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) under various regulations such as AIFMD, MiFID II, the Dodd-Frank Act & SEC. Likewise, a trust usually requires an LEI under MiFID II and EMIR. Below, you can explore what the requirements are and determine if you need to apply for one.
In summary, the benchmarks of SWFs can be condensed to four words: (1) Legitimacy (2) Intent (3) Performance (4) Endurance However, I choose to use the longer versions of these benchmarks in this paper to emphasize the more general structure and considerations conveyed by their complete titles.
What is the major sovereign wealth fund?
Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (ADQ) is a sovereign wealth fund based out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Founded in 2018, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC (ADQ) has $190 billion in total assets. ADQ ranks among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have over $11.5 trillion in assets under management as of February 2023. Most of these 176 funds are sponsored by non-Western countries and their growth has made SWFs important international investors, particularly in private equity funding.
- Meeder Dynamic Allocation Fund.
- JPMorgan Investor Growth Fund.
- TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Aggressive Gr Fund.
- Franklin Mutual Shares Fund.
- North Square Multi Strategy Fd.
- Gabelli Focused Growth and Inc Fd.
- E-Valuator Agrsv Growth(85%-99%)RMS Fund.
2023 rank | Fund Manager | Headquarters |
---|---|---|
1 | Blackstone | New York |
2 | KKR | New York |
3 | EQT | Stockholm |
4 | Thoma Bravo | Chicago |
SWFs grew rapidly between 2008 and 2021, with global assets under management by these funds increasing from approximately $4 trillion to more than $10 trillion. SWFs invest in a variety of asset classes such as stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity and hedge funds.