Sovereign Wealth Funds - state investment entities - have been hitting news headlines in recent years. Major purchases of European and US financial firms began to-stir increasing debate and
concerns about their roles and objectives. This, coupled with the complexity and opaque nature of their strategies and investment holdings, has given rise to concern at the highest levels in
many western countries. Sovereign Wealth Funds aims to clarify the nature, strategies and investment holdings of SWFs to enable policymakers, academics and potential investment targets to make
reasoned judgements on the significance and activities of this fast-growing phenomenon. After all, they are not new. The first one was set up in 1953.
The book focuses on their operations, investment activities and strategies, and the implications of SWFs in the global markets. Because it can be difficult to generalise about SWFs (with their
differing funding sources, and distinctive objectives, risk appetites and investment horizons) five specific SWFs are presented and compared in great detail -Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
(ADIA), the China Investment Corporation (CIC), the Norwegian Government's Pension Fund - Global (GPFG), the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Temasek Holdings of
Singapore.
Lixia Loh has a PhD in Finance from the University of Nottingham and an MSc in International Economics, Finance and Banking from Cardiff University.
She has lectured in universities in both Singapore and the UK. Her research and teaching interests include empirical finance, financial markets and monetary economics and she has presented her
work at various international conferences.
