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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KyrosL who wrote (71761)	3/9/2011 8:55:43 AM
From: elmatador	Respond to of 217545

Sovereign wealth fund assets rise to $4,000bn By Anousha Sakoui Published: March 8 2011 20:37 \| Last updated: March 8 2011 20:37 Sovereign wealth funds increased their assets under management by 11 per cent over the past year to $4,000bn, for the second year in succession, says a new report, a surprising move given a difficult investing environment. While some SWFs have suffered withdrawals, the aggregate assets under management increased from $3,590bn in 2010 to $3,980bn at the start of 2011. Like most private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds have suffered losses on their investments during the credit crisis. They made several high-profile investments in US and European banks. But Ian Moore, partner at law firm Norton Rose, said the results highlighted how SWFs had made changes in their approach to investing. “They have come out of the tough times looking robust and making a recovery that people might not have expected a couple of years ago,” said Mr Moore. “They have had to be less opportunistic in their investment approach, in certain areas, to ensure a diverse portfolio. The AUM is impressive alone in what has been an investment environment of doom and gloom,” he said. “It reinforces the story of what we have been saying – that SWFs are an investor class to be reckoned with.” Analysts at Preqin, which collated the data, said unrest in the Middle East and north Africa could have ramifications for the future investment policies of the Libyan Investment Authority or other SWFs in both Algeria and Bahrain. The LIA has managed $70bn in recent years as part of managing the country’s oil revenues but its mandate could alter due to political change in the country, the analysts said. Of the funds that saw withdrawals, Preqin noted that the Russian Reserve Fund was used to balance the country’s federal budget during 2010, but its total assets had fallen to $25.4bn compared to $60.5bn at the start of 2010. The proportion of SWFs investing in infrastructure has increased from 47 per cent in 2010 to 61 per cent at the beginning of this year. There has also been an increase in the proportion of SWFs investing in real estate and private equity – 51 per cent to 56 per cent and 55 per cent to 59 per cent respectively. However, the amount they have invested in hedge funds is unchanged at around 36 per cent. The opacity of sovereign wealth funds has been a focus of western critics, who fear politically driven investment decisions by largely autocratic states. The International Monetary Fund has developed “best practices” for SWFs to improve their transparency and governance. The guidelines were adopted by leading funds in 2008. .Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.