When the world’s largest and most successful sovereign wealth fund (SWF), Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), decides to change its asset allocation strategy and pursue a more socially-inclusive agenda incorporating sustainable goals for its investments, the environment and governance, and in alignment with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), then the world of fund and wealth management cannot but sit up and take note.
They marvel at GPFG out of admiration and perhaps even understandably of envy. GPFG, with assets under management (AUM) of NKR7,527 billion (RM4,018 billion) as at the end of December last year, and managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), a unit within the Norwegian central bank, is the SWF role model for the world to follow in responsible investment, performance, sustainability, governance, transparency and engaging with its main stakeholders — the taxpayer and/or citizen.
SWFs can attract their fair share of controversy. That is why their oversight and scrutiny processes should be second to none.
The Norwegian government is precise about the objective of GPFG, which is “saving for the current and future generations in Norway. One day, the oil will run out, but the return on the fund will continue to benefit the Norwegian population”.
If one reads the mission statements of most SWFs, they sound as if they are cloned from each other — incorporating the usual suspects in a post-2008 financial crisis and economic austerity era and, more recently, in a global environment of low oil and commodity prices. These include resilience, value creation, catalysing domestic growth, high-quality assets, improved performance and returns, and creative asset allocation and portfolio management, which comply with global ESG (Environment, Sustainable, Governance) and SRI (Socially Responsible Investments) guidelines.
Cue to Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Bhd, with US$34.9 billion (RM155 billion) of AUM. Its managing director, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, at the launch of its Annual Review for 2016 last month, said: “Khazanah recorded a profitable and resilient performance in 2016, amidst the challenging and volatile global economic environment that affected all core benchmark markets and currencies. This market environment is expected to continue in 2017. Khazanah will continue to drive long-term value creation, further develop a high-quality and resilient portfolio, ensure holistic value creation in financial, economic and societal terms, as well as strengthen institutional integrity and governance.”
We know what the main purpose of SWFs is. It is to generate reasonable and sustainable returns over a long-term investment horizon. The means and ways of how to achieve this objective can be controversial and go pear-shaped.
Inherent in SWFs is an instinctive attachment to sovereignty and nationalism, especially in asset and investment allocation. Sometimes, SWFs are criticised for investing in “trophy assets”, especially global brands more for reasons of vanity than risk/reward considerations; or investing in companies in the markets of rival economies; or treating SWFs as mere private equity vehicles, thus abdicating its patriotic responsibility of serving a higher purpose for the future prosperity of the nation.
GPFG, established in 1990, has maintained a long-term outlook and sustained a considerable AUM. Successive governments have united under a bi-partisan consensus to achieve this impressive “money in the bank for tomorrow” approach, which is perhaps the pinnacle of societal impact by any government to date. The temptation is always for governments to use SWFs as political tools and as a bottomless pit of money, especially in times of austerity, low commodity prices and budget deficits.
Even in Norway, the ruling centre-right Conservative Party of Prime Minister Erna Solberg has just tabled proposals in Parliament to rein in the amount of funds the country can draw down each year from GPFG for use in the national budget from four to three per cent, and raising the amount the fund can invest in equities from 60 to 70 per cent, at the expense of investments in bonds and real estate.
This additional 10 per cent migration into equities will boost the equities market by US$90 billion. GPFG already invests in 1.3 per cent of listed companies worldwide and 2.3 per cent of listed companies in Europe. Imagine translating the Norwegian experience to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, which boast a staggering 36 SWFs of varying sizes and aspirations, including one of Palestine, with an AUM of US$3,376.08 billion.
The AUM of the world’s 73 SWFs, according to the SWF Institute, amounted to US$7,423.93 billion on Jan 1. It does not take a maths genius to realise that the OIC accounts for half of the world’s SWFs and just under half of their total AUM.
With Saudi Arabia setting up a new SWF under the Public Investment Fund with an aspired AUM of US$2 trillion following the sell-off of a minority chunk of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, the public AUM ownership by the OIC countries would be further consolidated as the largest, potentially only to be rivalled by that of Chinese AUM, including those owned by diaspora countries, such as Singapore.
Perhaps, it is time to revisit the idea first proposed by then second finance minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah at the Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank in Baku for the establishment of a Supra SWF owned by the OIC countries, which would invest only in syariah-compliant assets.
Imagine the impact on the global Islamic finance industry of such a fund even of a modest AUM. Imagine the potential for unleashing win-win investments in the OIC countries to create growth, jobs and wealth to alleviate poverty and marginalise youth alienation.
The SWF AUM force is indeed with the OIC countries.
Mushtak Parker is an independent
London-based economist and writer