Staatsfonds – „neue“ Akteure anden Finanzmärkten?

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become active investors on the financial markets. Thisworking paper meets the increasing thirst for information on the investment activities of SovereignWealth Funds, their legal environment and the implications on German stock listedcorporations. Thus, this paper examines the history of, and reasons for establishing SWFs.Furthermore, concerns regarding transparency and investment activities of SWFs are discussed.The authors find no evidence for politicaly motivated investments or massive marketintervention by SWFs. Furthermore, the authors propose that the newly established SantiagoPrinciples will build up trust in the financial markets.The empirical part of the working paper analyzes the impact of SWFs on German stock listedcorporations. Main findings of the survey include that corporations lack information on SWFsand disagree with the planned change of the “Außenwirtschaftsgesetz”. The Survey’s resultsfurther indicate that participant corporations have no concerns about SWF investment activities.Only few SWFs were willing to participate in the survey and therefore information fromthe IMF was utilized to get an overview about the sector.