A survey of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

ABSTRACT: Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are the largest state-owned investment vehicle with more than $6 trillion assets under management by the end of 2013. SWFs control a pool of state capital, and they are owned and managed by the government. They hold foreign currency-denominated assets with long-term investment horizon. The operation and governance structure of the funds are separated from the official foreign exchange reserves. The main objectives of SWFs are to preserve the state‟s fund for the future generation and to seek a return above the government-owned securities return via investing in high-risk long-term assets. Recent sharp rise of oil and gas price caused the emersion of new fast growing fund in Middle East rich oil exporter countries. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which solely manage more than 37% of total SWFs in the world, play a vital role in global financial markets. Since, they have tried to acquire a stake in western companies, lots of concerns have raised pointing their political motivations behind the curtain. The finding based on this thesis shows that the SWFs with a high level of transparency and regulation, such as Norway‟s SWF, are the most successful and less target of criticism in the world. Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Fund, Gulf Cooperation Council, Transparency. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………