Economics of Sovereign Wealth Funds

Catalog description

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are key actors in the global financial landscape of the twenty-first century. These funds manage assets worth more than 7 trillion of US dollars and have grown more rapidly than any other class of large global investors - and thus appear set to strongly influence international investing for the foreseeable future. Yet, in spite of their size and relevance, SWFs are still quite poorly understood. What explains their momentous rise? What is the economic rationale for their establishment? How do they differ from other global institutional investors? Which economic, institutional, and governance challenges to they face? Against this backdrop, this course will introduce the student to the economic principles of sovereign investing and to key, selected problems and issues in sovereign wealth management in the international context and with special reference to the impact COVID-19 crisis in the UAE, home of some of the leading SWFs.