Description

The author discusses the investment of public funds which he feels fall into four categories: international reserves, public pension funds, state-owned enterprises, and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). International reserves are assets used by central banks that are invested to protect a country's currency and used to implement changes in monetary policy: the funds are generally invested in highly liquid government-backed investments. Public pensions are government managed funds for future payouts of entitled citizens and are generally invested within the country. State-owned enterprises are companies in which the government owns at least a substantial minority and often invest internationally. SWFs are generally invested globally with a goal to maximize returns.