State Street, a provider of financial services to institutional investors, has released its Vision Report on sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), the fifth report in a series of papers targeting issues at the core of institutional investing. State Street’s Vision Series is intended to advance understanding of key themes and trends within the financial services industry.
The latest report assesses the impact of SWFs on the global economy. With nearly $3 trillion in aggregate financial resources and a rapid growth trajectory, SWFs are increasingly important cross-border investors. Across the industry, their rise to prominence has provoked discussion across the industry around issues of accountability, transparency and the appropriateness of government control over investment decision-making.
“While political issues relating to sovereign wealth funds have dominated the discussion, less attention has been paid to the actual nature of SWFs their liabilities, their differing investment objectives and their likely impact on capital markets,” says Jay Hooley, president and chief operating officer of State Street. “Drawing on State Street’s perspective as a market practitioner, we’ve focused our report on these areas. We hope our insights into this fast-growing market will assist industry participants as they formulate their own views and anticipate trends that could affect them and their customers.”
The Vision Report on SWFs draws on knowledge from George R. Hoguet, managing director, senior portfolio manager and global investment strategist specializing in emerging markets at SSgA; John Nuge, managing director, SSgA, and head of State Street’s Official Institutions Group; and Andrew Rozanov, head of Sovereign Advisory and managing director of State Street Global Markets.
A pdf of the report is available on State Street’s website.