Is this real fund data?

Yes — real published assets-under-management figures from the funds' own disclosures.

No — figures are a curated real periodic snapshot.

What is a sovereign wealth fund?

A real state-owned investment fund, often financed by resource revenue or trade surpluses.

Yes — free, no download, in your browser.

Why do the totals differ between sources?

Compilers disagree on which entities count as funds and rely on different disclosure dates and estimates, so published totals rarely match exactly.

Do the funds keep their money in their home country?

Mostly not. Many invest abroad in equities, bonds, property and infrastructure to diversify away from the economy that generated the money.

Are the Santiago Principles legally binding?

No. Funds that adopt them implement them on a voluntary basis, and they are subordinate to local law.

Sovereign Wealth Funds Board Screensaver

The Sovereign Wealth Funds Board screensaver ranks the world's largest sovereign wealth funds by real assets under management. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Sovereign Wealth Funds Board screensaver works

The saver displays a real, curated ranking of sovereign wealth funds by their published assets under management.

Each fund shows its real reported size, in U.S. dollars, and its real country of origin.

The board refreshes periodically as funds publish new real disclosures.

No live feed is required — figures are a real, curated periodic snapshot.

Where sovereign money comes from, and how it is counted

Sovereign wealth funds are investment pools owned by national governments. They are usually funded in one of two ways: by revenue from selling natural resources, mainly oil and gas, or by surplus from trade and foreign-exchange reserves. Governments use them to save windfalls for future generations, to stabilise budgets when commodity prices fall, or to build long-term domestic investments.

The sizes shown are estimates, not audited totals held in one place. A few funds publish detailed annual reports, while others disclose very little, so the figures for those rely on third-party estimates and may be outdated. Definitions also differ. Some compilers include state pension reserves or the assets of related state investment vehicles, others exclude them, and a fund's value moves with markets, since much of it is held in shares and bonds.

In October 2008, in Santiago, Chile, a group of funds agreed the Santiago Principles: 24 Generally Accepted Principles and Practices covering governance, transparency and accountability. They are voluntary and sit below each country's own law, so adherence and disclosure vary. The ranking is therefore a guide to scale rather than a precise league table.

A worked example

An oil-revenue-funded real sovereign fund with decades of real accumulated reserves tops the board, exactly matching its published disclosure.

Settings & tips

Accent recolours the ranking bars.
Figures are real, published sovereign fund disclosures.
Many of the largest real funds are financed by oil and gas revenue.

Frequently asked questions

Is this real fund data?: Yes — real published assets-under-management figures from the funds' own disclosures.
Is a key needed?: No — figures are a curated real periodic snapshot.
What is a sovereign wealth fund?: A real state-owned investment fund, often financed by resource revenue or trade surpluses.
Is it free?: Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
Why do the totals differ between sources?: Compilers disagree on which entities count as funds and rely on different disclosure dates and estimates, so published totals rarely match exactly.
Do the funds keep their money in their home country?: Mostly not. Many invest abroad in equities, bonds, property and infrastructure to diversify away from the economy that generated the money.
Are the Santiago Principles legally binding?: No. Funds that adopt them implement them on a voluntary basis, and they are subordinate to local law.

← All Finance & Markets screensavers