Sovereign Wealth Funds: Between the State and Markets (Finance Matters)
Description
What constitutes a sovereign wealth fund is contested. In general, however, it is a state-sponsored institutional investor that is answerable only to the state and makes investments according to the interests and mandate of that state. Different types of funds have emerged in the context of particular economic conjunctures, and over the last decade the number of sovereign wealth funds has grown substantially, with total assets exceeding $7 trillion. This trend is set to continue, as more and more countries look to establish an SWF. The place of SWFs in global financial markets may appear settled, but this does not mean that concerns about “state capital” and its place in financial markets has gone away.
This short book offers an incisive discussion of the development of this class of investor, how they have become legitimate actors in global financial markets, and their role as providers of capital and in economic development at home and abroad.
Javier Capapé, PhD is the Director of the Sovereign Wealth Research at the Center for the Governance of Change and Adjunct Professor, at IE University. He earned his PhD from ESADE Business School and the University of Illinois. He has been Consultant at the United Nations Environment Program on Sovereign Wealth Funds and Sustainable Development Goals. Since 2012, he is SovereigNET Research Affiliate at The Fletcher School (Tufts University) and Co-Editor of the Sovereign Wealth Funds Reports series, an initiative backed by ICEX.
He has presented his work on Sovereign Wealth Funds, among others, at the United Nations COP24, the World Bank, Bank of International Settlements, Sciences Po, University of Illinois, Academy of International Business, and the International Finance Corporation. Capapé has attended conferences or specialized courses at Harvard University, London School of Economics, OECD, Aspen Institute, Qatar Investment Authority, International Forum of SWFs, Fondo Strategico Italiano, or Columbia University. He also works connecting Sovereign Wealth Funds with tech-based startups, real estate projects, venture capital and private equity fund managers.
Adam D. Dixon is a geographer and political economist with an interest in understanding the relationship between the state and the economy, with a specific focus on state-controlled investment funds known conventionally as sovereign wealth funds.
Dixon is Associate Professor of Globalization and Development and also the lead of the Globalization, Transnationalism and Development research programme at FASoS. He was also Associate Professor in Economic Geography for 8 and a half years.
Patrick J. Schena, PhD, is BLR Professor of Practice in the Department of Economics, Tufts University and Director of Tufts’ Finance Minor. He is also Adj Professor of International Business at The Fletcher School, where for 20 years he has taught courses on finance, investment management, and private equity. Additionally, he is an Associate-in-Research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.
He recently served as Chairman of the advisory committee of a World Bank – PIAFF study on the evolution and role of strategic investment funds. Dr Schena holds a PhD from the Fletcher School, Tufts University with a disciplinary concentration in international finance and capital markets, a MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, and MA and BA degrees from Boston College.