What Explains the Size of Sovereign Wealth Funds?

Abstract Reasons for the rapid appearance and growth of SWFs is contributed by increase in oil prices and the accumulation of large balance-of-payments surpluses. Purpose of the article is to investigate size of observed Sovereign Wealth Funds in 2013. Moreover, to describe what explain differences in the size of SWFs, on the other hand what determines the amount of foreign exchange reserves. Is the size of observed funds closely related to rate of growth of the countries? Is return of observed funds is closely related to fund value bn USD, GDP growth (annual %) and inflation rate of the country? Methodology/methods deployed in this paper has been done illustrations by using available data from official websites of funds, Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, International Monetary Fund, CIA The World Factbook and author’s calculations due the fact that most of funds do not provide data to the public. In addition to this, we present the estimations by using regression analysis, transferring observed data using the least squares method, The two-sample t-test for mean value, ANOVA, TINV. Scientific aim is to examine whether AUM of SWFs, moreover the size of 14 observed funds is closely related to rate of growth of the countries at 90 percent of probability. Second, if return of 14 observed funds is closely related to fund value bn USD, GDP growth (annual %) and inflation rate of the country at 95 percent of probability. Third, if there are significant differences between return in 2010 and 2013. Findings indicates that paper came to the conclusion that the return of 14 observed funds is closely related to fund value bn USD, GDP growth (annual %) and inflation rate of the country at 95 percent of probability. Furthermore, there are significant differences between return in 2010 and 2013. Conclusions (limits, implications etc) pointed out that the influence of SWFs has become undeniable, with total assets topping 6,585tn USD in June 2014, these investors have reached a size comparable to that of the entire alternative assets industry.