A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
The Government Pension Fund of Norway comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the government of Norway.
An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked companies, insurers, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, charities, hedge funds, REITs, investment advisors, endowments, and mutual funds. Operating companies which invest excess capital in these types of assets may also be included in the term. Activist institutional investors may also influence corporate governance by exercising voting rights in their investments. In 2019, the world's top 500 asset managers collectively managed $104.4 trillion in Assets under Management (AuM).
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It manages the Emirate's excess oil reserves and is estimated to manage $853 billion. ADIA is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.
GIC Private Limited is a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund that manages the country's foreign reserves. Established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, of which "GIC" is derived from as an acronym, its mission is to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves, with the aim to achieve good long-term returns above global inflation over the investment time horizon of 20 years.
In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, measures the total market value of all the financial assets which an individual or financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institution—or a decentralized network protocol controls, typically on behalf of a client. Funds may be managed for clients, platform users, or solely for themselves, such as in the case of a financial institution which has mutual funds or holds its own venture capital. The definition and formula for calculating AUM may differ from one entity to another.
The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is the Middle East's oldest sovereign wealth fund, managing the state’s reserve and the state’s future generation fund (FGF).
A common contractual fund (CCF) is a collective investment scheme structure in Ireland introduced by the European Communities UCITS Regulations, 2003.
A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), sovereign investment fund, or social wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as private equity fund or hedge funds. Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. Most SWFs are funded by revenues from commodity exports or from foreign-exchange reserves held by the central bank.
An alternative investment, also known as an alternative asset or alternative investment fund (AIF), is an investment in any asset class excluding stocks, bonds, and cash. The term is a relatively loose one and includes tangible assets such as precious metals, collectibles and some financial assets such as real estate, commodities, private equity, distressed securities, hedge funds, exchange funds, carbon credits, venture capital, film production, financial derivatives, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and Tax Receivable Agreements. Investments in real estate, forestry and shipping are also often termed "alternative" despite the ancient use of such real assets to enhance and preserve wealth. Alternative investments are to be contrasted with traditional investments.
Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Gjensidig Forsikringsselskap or KLP is an Oslo-based mutual insurance company that manages the pensions of municipal employees in Norway. As of 31 March 2021, the fund had assets of NOK 813.5 billion, with 337 municipal and county authorities, 31 health trusts and 2,300 public sector firms as clients.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, operating as CPP Investments, is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and held by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
Global assets under management consists of assets held by asset management firms, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and private equity funds.
The Korea Investment Corporation is a sovereign wealth fund established by the government of South Korea in 2005. Its mission is to preserve and enhance the long-term purchasing power of South Korea's sovereign wealth through efficient management of public funds in the international financial markets. KIC manages assets entrusted by the Government, the Bank of Korea, and other public funds as defined under the National Finance Act. KIC directly invests the entrusted assets or re-entrusts the assets to external managers. As of July 2023, KIC has $169 billion assets under management.
The Santiago Principles or formally the Sovereign Wealth Funds: Generally Accepted Principles and Practices (GAPP) are designed as a common global set of 24 voluntary guidelines that assign best practices for the operations of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). They are a consequence of the concern of investors and regulators to establish management principles addressing the inadequate transparency, independence, and governance in the industry. They are guidelines to be followed by sovereign wealth fund management to maintain a stable global financial system, proper controls around risk, regulation and a sound governance structure.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority is a Nigerian establishment which manages the Nigeria sovereign wealth fund, into which the surplus income produced from Nigeria's excess oil reserves is deposited. This sovereign wealth fund was founded for the purpose of managing and investing these funds on behalf of the government of Nigeria. The fund was established by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Act 2011, signed in May 2011, and commenced operations in October 2012. It is intended to invest the savings gained on the difference between the budgeted and actual market prices for oil to earn returns that would benefit future generations of Nigerians. The fund was allocated an initial US$1 billion in seed capital, and, an additional $0.60billion has been contributed to date by the current administration. In August 2023 the fund has US$ 2.3 billion in assets under management.
The Fundo Soberano de Angola is the sovereign wealth fund of Angola. It is a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, and therefore has signed up to the Santiago Principles on best practice in managing sovereign wealth funds. The FSDEA is meant to play an important role in promoting Angola’s social and economic development and generating wealth for its people. The fund was rated by the SWFI in February 2015 with a ranking of 8 out of 10.
The Public Investment Fund is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of US$776 billion. It was created in 1971 for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia. The wealth fund is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since 2015.
National Investment Corporation of the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NIC) was established in October 2012 to preserve and enhance the long-term purchasing power of Kazakhstan’s foreign exchange reserves and of the National Fund through investments in less liquid high yielding asset classes. NIC manages assets entrusted by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. NIC invests in private equity, hedge funds, real estate and infrastructure through external managers and has signed up to the Santiago Principles on best practice in managing sovereign wealth funds.
