The Sovereign Wealth Fund industry has experienced a dramatic growth in capital and sophistication since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. During the past 13 years, 62 new SWFs have been established (38 of them with a strategic function), and the industry’s AUM has tripled from US$3.4 trillion to US$10.3 trillion.
Contrary to popular beliefs, the predominance of commodity-based funds is fading, and these only represent a 51% of the total capital today. In terms of regions, we find the strongest growth rates in Europe, thanks to Norges Bank Investment Management, and in Asia, led by China Investment Corporation and Korea Investment Corporation. On the flip side, the industry in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be minuscule, and Latin America has actually lost SWF capital due to the significant withdrawals related to Covid-19 that happened last year in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In our 2021 annual report, released on January 1, we forecast that the industry AuM would reach US$15.8 trillion by 2030. We may have to revisit this figure soon.
