Size does matter, and global sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are one measure of any country’s economic muscle. Norway, which has the world’s largest SWF at about $1.4-1.8 trillion, owns, on an average, 1.5% of every listed company on Earth. Imagine what will happen to the global capital markets if Norway sneezes. Or if Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is one of the world’s largest investors in Softbank’s $100-billion Vision Fund, or the UAE’s ADIA or Mubadala were to catch a cold? If they caught a cold, the attendant infection could shake up the global markets.
