Sovereign Wealth Funds: States Buying the World

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have been much discussed and yet are little understood. First coined in 2005, these state-investment entities came to news headlines in recent years following major purchases of European and U.S. financial firms, stirring increasing debate and concerns about their roles and objectives.

These funds, however, are nothing new. The first SWF, Kuwait Investment Board, was set up in 1953. Today, SWFs hold around $3 trillion USD in assets and are estimated to grow to $12 trillion USD by 2012. With such a rapid growth trajectory, what new challenges do these funds pose for governments and businesses?

Sovereign Wealth Funds: States Buying the World provides a comprehensive overview of SWFs, tracing their origins, objectives, investment strategies, modus operandi, and implications to the international financial system. This book deals with the subject in depth, covering the structure and strategy of SWFs.