The Palgrave Handbook of Sovereign Wealth Funds

The Palgrave Handbook of Sovereign Wealth Funds provides a comprehensive, detailed analysis of these funds from a multidimensional perspective consisting of 33 chapters divided into seven sections. Section I provides background material about SWFs, providing a foundation for the remainder of the handbook. Section II examines various controversies, governance, and accountability topics involving SWFs. Section III discusses the political, legal, and tax aspects of SWFs. Section IV reviews numerous topics involving SWF management. Section V deals with SWFs’ policies, preferences, and performance. Section VI provides descriptive analyses of SWFs based on country or region. It also offers a comparison of SWF similarities and differences across countries. Section VII concludes by examining special issues and the future of SWFs.

This handbook spans the gamut from theoretical to practical while offering the right balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. Discussion of relevant research permeates the handbook. Although other books are available on SWFs, few are as comprehensive or provide a multidimensional perspective from academics and practitioners. This handbook fills a gap by showing how SWFs are a growing and dynamic force in international finance.

H. Kent Baker, CFA, CMA, is a University Professor of Finance at the Kogod School of Business, American University. He is an award-winning author who has authored or edited 44 books, including several textbooks. Professor Baker has also published more than 215 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, plus over 160 other articles, monographs, book chapters, proceedings, and 350 book reviews and abstracts. He co-edited the Financial Markets and Investments Series (Oxford University Press) and is the editor and co-author of The H. Kent Baker Investments Series (Emerald Publishing). He holds eight earned degrees, including three doctorates.

Jeffrey H. Harris is the Gary Cohn Goldman Sachs Endowed Chair in Finance at the Kogod School of Business, American University. He has published numerous refereed articles and has an extensive background in market microstructure, dealer markets, exchange trading, and regulatory issues. Professor Harris has served as Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis at the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission and as Chief Economist at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He was also a Visiting Academic at the Nasdaq Stock Market and the SEC.

Ghiyath Nakshbendi is a Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Finance and Real Estate at the Kogod School of Business, American University. Professor Nakshbendi worked for the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA). His early career in academia was followed by more than 25 years of senior positions in developmental financing, SWFs, and commercial real estate in more than 15 countries. He is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Sovereign Investment Lab, Baffi Center on International Markets, Money, and Regulation. Along with Jeffrey H. Harris, he has co-sponsored the American University Kogod School of Business’ Sovereign Wealth Funds conference annually since 2014.