Sovereign Wealth Funds (“SWF”) are state-owned investment vehicles. Not all countries have them. SWFs are funded from budget surpluses, trade surpluses or natural resource revenues. The charter/purpose of SWFs vary. Some exist to protect the country from effects of currency fluctuations, while others are a rainy day fund for when their resources riches dry up.
As of September 2017 the world’s SWFs owned $7.4 Trillion of assets, more than double from ten years ago. $4.2 Trillion of SWF assets are held by oil and gas-related funds.
Biggest SWFs:
10. China’s National Social Security Fund: $295 Billion
9. Qatar Investment Authority: $320 Billion
8. Government of Singapore Investment Corporation: $359 Billion
7. SAFE Investment Company (Hong Kong division of China SWF): $441 Billion
6. Hong Kong Exchange Fund: $457 Billion
5. SAMA Foreign Holdings (Saudi Arabia): $514 Billion
4. Kuwait Investment Authority: $524 Billion
3. China Investment Corporation: $814 Billion
2. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: $828 Billion
1. Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global: $1 Trillion
$4.2 Trillion of SWF assets are held by oil and gas-related funds. One more reason we need to get to an all electric transportation system fast.