Sovereign Funds - A Powerful Secret

Topics: Corporations

As a result of a huge surplus of petrodollars in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), "a secretive, government-controlled investment fund is helping to shift the balance of power in the financial world," explains the World Business section of today’s New York Times. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is investing in markets in every region of the world and quietly playing a role in the success, or failure, of companies on a global scale.

Sovereign funds are state-owned funds that manage state savings for the purpose of investment. Basically, they are pools of money governments use to invest for profit, and, generally, these investments are made in foreign companies. For a more in-depth explanation, see the Council on Foreign Relations' Sovereign Wealth Funds fact-sheet.

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