Sovereign Wealth Funds. A complete guide to state-owned investment funds

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) - state investment vehicles based on balance of payment surpluses - have come increasingly under the scrutiny of public opinion over the past decade. Their remarkable investments in developed economies have also attracted the attention of politicians, academics and financial operators. At first ignored, then seen as a cause for concern, they finally came to be viewed as stabilising agents amid the troubles of the 2007-2009 financial tsunami. Having sponsored the bailouts of some significant Western banks, SWFs underwent a phase of retrenchment concomitant with the shrinking of economic growth, the bursting of financial and real-estate bubbles and the emphasis on refocusing liquidity on domestic markets that followed in the wake of the crisis. Since the second half of 2009, however, SWFs have adjusted targets and strategies to the new financial paradigm and re-engaged in the global economy, proving to be major players in the international financial markets.