Follow the Money: The Evolving Roles of Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds

The fast-evolving role of sovereign wealth funds in Gulf Arab states informs economic development trends within the region as well as international political economy dynamics. Gulf sovereign wealth fund officials oversee trillions of dollars in assets under management, providing governments significant financial firepower. Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari sovereign wealth funds are deploying massive sums of investment capital in increasingly assertive and visible manners. The Kuwait Investment Authority – which traditionally followed a low-profile, low-risk investment approach focused on overseas assets – is reportedly exploring the feasibility of a domestically oriented sovereign fund, Ciyada. Oman and Bahrain enjoy relatively smaller pools of sovereign wealth, but their sovereign wealth funds remain important for economic policymaking.   

How are Gulf sovereign wealth funds evolving to meet both the demands of a changing global investment landscape and the needs of domestic economies? What are the risks attached to new investment forays into global sports, experimental domestic development initiatives, and other domains? To what degree do the individuals behind sovereign wealth funds matter for investment decisions? How are officials adjusting the geographic distribution of their investment portfolios? And what can sovereign wealth funds and their activities reveal about Gulf states’ existing and new partnerships on the world stage? 

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