Sovereign wealth funds are flogging assets – and that means big trouble

A tidal wave of selling from sovereign wealth funds could spark the next financial crisis, says Matthew Lynn. And nobody's taken any notice.

15-10-15-putin-634

A hoard is too tempting for broke governments

What do Norway, Saudi Arabia and Russia have in common? They are all players in the oil industry, perhaps? None of them have ever won the World Cup, or are ever likely to? Maybe true, but the answer I was looking for is that they all have massive sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).Rewind a few years and these state-owned investment funds were all the rage. Huge amounts of capital from mostly oil-rich countries were being accumulated.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.