The term Sovereign wealth fund was first used in 2005 by Andrew Romanov in an article entitled 'Who holds the wealth of nations? In the article, Mr.Romanov mentioned that “Typically, sovereign wealth funds are a by-product of national budget surpluses, accumulated over the years due to favorable macroeconomic, trade and fiscal positions, coupled with long-term budget planning and spending restraint. Usually, these funds are set up with one or more of the following objectives: insulate the budget and economy from excess volatility in revenues, help monetary authorities sterilize unwanted liquidity, build up savings for future
generations, or use the money for economic and social
development”.
Translation – Sovereign funds functioned as a vehicle through which cash rich nations could invest in fairly stable, promising investment products.
Follow The Money: The current global economic downturn offers some unique opportunities for cash-rich global funds to pick up choice assets at bargain prices. A brief study of the key holdings in some of these funds may offer some insights for would-be investors.
Note: I’m making an assumption that these sovereign wealth managers will make smart investment decisions. At the very least, we should notice some consistent themes across funds from Asia, S/America & the Middle east.
Below is a list of 14 funds – which were featured in Mr.. Romanov's article, back in ‘05.
| Country | Fund Name | Assets ‘05 $B | Assets Feb ‘09 |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi Investment Authority | $250,000 Billion | $875 Billion |
| Norway | Government Petroleum Fund | $170,000 Billion | $350 Billion |
| Hong Kong | Investment Portfolio (HKMA) | $100,000 Billion | $173 Billion |
| Kuwait | Kuwait Investment Authority | $65,000 Billion | $202 Billion |
| Singapore | GIC | $100,000 Billion | $330 Billion |
| Brunei | BIA | $30,000 Billion | $30 Billion |
| USA (Alaska) | Permanent Reserve Fund | $29,800 Billion | $29 Billion |
| Russia | Stabilization Fund | $27,700 Billion | $137 Billion |
| Malaysia | Khazanah Nasional BHD | $ 15,800 Billion | 25.7 Billion |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Revenue Stabilization Fund | 460 Million | 2.9 Billion |
| Canada | Alberta Heritage | $9,800 Billion | 14.9 Billion |
| Chile | Copper Stabilization Fund | $3,900 Billion | $21 Billion |
| Oman | State General Reserve Fund | $2,000 Billion | $8.2 Billion |
| Venezuela | FIEM | $714M | $~700M |
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