Largest SWFs funds worldwide April 2024, by total assets

As of 2024, the global landscape of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) largely featured the Middle East. Despite not ranking among the largest global State-Owned Investors (SOIs), the Middle East was home to nine of the top 20 SWFs worldwide. The largest SWF was the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, managing assets just shy of one trillion U.S. dollars. Asia also played a prominent role in the global SWF landscape. Seven of the world's leading SWFs were domiciled in Asia, the largest of which was the China Investment Corporation. 

What are sovereign wealth funds?

Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned and are comprised of a wide array of financial assets including stocks, bonds, real estate, precious metals, and other financial instruments. In the main, sovereign wealth funds are funded by foreign-exchange reserves, assets which are held by monetary authorities or central banks in the form of U.S. dollars and other leading world currencies as a way of backing liabilities.

Who holds the SWF?

A state’s central bank will generally hold the sovereign wealth fund; in the process of its management of a nations funds or banking system funds will be accumulated. These types of state fund are of major economic and fiscal importance, and may be implemented for different objectives: protect the economy against sudden shocks, hedge against the problem of an aging population, or to foster socio-economic development.