Sustainable finance

Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)

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Definition

A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund, typically capitalised by commodity revenues (oil and gas funds such as Norway's NBIM, the world's largest), foreign exchange reserves or fiscal surpluses, investing for intergenerational savings, stabilisation or development. SWFs collectively manage several trillion dollars; their stewardship choices — Norway's exclusion of coal companies and active ESG voting being the benchmark — move markets given their scale.

References

www.ifswf.orgBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

Source organisationSupporting reference

This reference provides supporting context for how “Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)” is defined and used.

Overview

How it is used

The concept structures debates on fossil revenue management, public investor stewardship, state capitalism and the greening of public finance.

Why it matters

SWFs are public money at planetary scale; where they point their ownership — toward transition or toward incumbents — matters to everyone.