Global Sovereign Fund Assets Rise to $7.4t

Sovereign wealth fund assets jumped 13% year-on-year to $7.45 trillion in March 2018 helped by a strong performance in global equity markets, a report from research provider Preqin showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. In the previous two years SWF assets have grown slowly or stalled, with low interest rates, low oil prices and volatile stock markets taking a toll, but global equities returned around 20% in 2017, giving funds a boost. Wealth in the sector remained concentrated, with the 10 largest funds managing $5.49 trillion, or 74% of total SWF assets globally. But growth broadened out, with 71% of funds seeing assets increase over the past 12 months, up from 51% a year ago. With hydrocarbon-funded SWFs making up 51% of total industry capital, the recovery in oil prices over the last 12 months has helped replenish coffers. Norway’s oil-backed Government Pension Fund Global is still the largest SWF in the world, with total assets of $1.06 trillion.