2008 Global Conference: Sovereign Wealth Funds: The Global Transfer of Capital

As sovereign wealth funds buy up pieces of American companies in a battered stock market, policy-makers are struggling to deal with these new financial behemoths. As profits from high oil prices pour into sovereign wealth funds, do these vehicles represent a new threat to an already fragile international financial architecture? Or are sovereign wealth funds unfairly singled out by protectionists worried about a falling dollar in an election year? Is regulation needed? And most important, can sovereign wealth funds move capital markets, or are they merely a part of the shift toward emerging-market investment? This discussion from the 2008 Milken Institute Global Conference seeks out the real story behind one of the least-understood financial vehicles in world markets.