Sovereign Wealth Funds, Democracy and International Law: Implications for Taiwan

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are government-controlled pools of capital, managed separately from official reserves, that are receiving increasing amounts of attention among commentators, regulators and the financial community. Unlike reserves managed by central banks to ensure currency stability and liquidity, SWFs can take larger risks for larger rewards through conventional investment vehicles, such as securities, property, commodities, and private equity.