THE STRATEGIC CHOICE OF SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS: THE IMPACT OF FUND LEVEL HETEROGENEITY ON INVESTMENT DECISIONS AND GOVERNANCE

Abstract

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have emerged as a new form of state-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs), structured to manage the wealth of countries and promote their economic development. They mainly function as institutional investors, but what drives those investment decisions has yet to be fully understood due to the limited prior research in this area. However, it is increasingly recognized that SWFs are not a homogeneous class of investors. This study draws on multiple theoretical perspectives and argues that the heterogeneity across SWFs leads to different investment and governance choices. Specifically, I examine the impact of the variation in the source of funds, objectives, board composition, age and size on multiple transaction-and fund-level decisions. At the transaction level, I consider the impact on three investment decision areas (location, approach, and equity ownership). At the fund level, I focus on two strategic choices (investment model and shareholders activism). Using a sample of 3590 transactions from 70 SWFs located in 40 countries between 2015-2021, I found strong support for the impact of the SWF's heterogeneity variables on the location and the investment approaches of transactions. On the other hand, the effect of the disparity across SWFs on the fund investment model and shareholder activism is less conclusive.