Global analysis of the participation of sovereign wealth funds in the stock market

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the overall investment in listed companies made by a sample of 30 sovereign wealth funds. The first part of this paper comprises a theoretical description of sovereign wealth funds, while the second part covers the analysis of the investment made at both the aggregate and individual levels. The results achieved from this analysis lead to the conclusion that Europe, Asia and North America attract more than two-thirds of total investment, with the financial sector being the one that attracts more funds. Another result indicates that more than 80% of total investment in listed companies comes from five sovereign wealth funds. Finally, the results also show that there is a group of sovereign wealth funds from Southeast Asia and the Middle East that have a high concentration and percentage of control over the investments they made, which could be an indicator of strategic positions.

Keywords

• sovereign wealth funds
• investment
• listed companies
• descriptive analysis