Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University, Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Thought and Nobel Laureate, discusses his views on sovereign wealth funds and sustainable investment in his keynote address, presented at the conference,
To learn more about this project, please visit cgt.columbia.edu/​conferences/​sovereign_wealth_funds_a_new_form_of_capitalism/​" />

Joseph Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University, Co-Chair of the Committee on Global Thought and Nobel Laureate, discusses his views on sovereign wealth funds and sustainable investment

First Annual Sovereign Wealth Fund Conference

A New Form of Capitalism?

October 4-5, 2010 • 6-8PM

Columbia University, Faculty House, Presidential Room

  • Franco Bassanini, President of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Italy): “Financing Long Term Investments after the Crisis: A View from Europe.”
  • Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of Caisse des Depots (France).
  • Al Gore, Chairman of the Board of Generation Investment Management and former Vice President of the United States: “Enacting Sustainable Capitalism.”
  • Pierre-Louis Lions, Co-Director of the SWF Research Initiative and recipient of the Fields Medal.
  • George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management and Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Institute: “The Sovereign Debt Problem.”
  • Andres Velasco, former Minister of Finance for Chile on the Chilean stabilization fund and commodity price volatility.
  • James Wolfensohn, Chairman of Wolfensohn & Company, LLC and former President of the World Bank: “What Sovereign Wealth Funds Can Do to Help Alleviate Global Poverty.”

“Sovereign Wealth Funds and Other Long-Term Investors: A New Form of Capitalism?” convened 200 scholars, policymakers, fund managers and economic thinkers to explore how sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and other long-term investors can leverage their unique long-term investment horizons to confront and profit from complex global challenges. The conference explored how SWFs and long-term investors can utilize innovative investment strategies to mitigate risk caused by financial instability, shortened investment time horizons, and multiple potential ecological, social, and demographic crises.

Global capitalism is facing the critical challenges of financial instability, shortened investment time horizons, and impending ecological, social, and demographic crises. National and international authorities have struggled to provide political solutions to these problems. By deploying innovative financial strategies, long-term investors have the opportunity to mitigate these crises where the political establishment has failed.

With SWFs’ assets projected to increase from $3.8 trillion to $10-12 trillion in the next several years, their expanding worldwide prominence often draws scrutiny and calls for protectionism. The public ownership of SWFs creates a variety of social, economic, and political incentives that distinguish them from traditional commercial investors. In addition to their focus on investment returns, many SWFs have broader investment mandates. Some are designed to ensure macroeconomic stability, while others were intended to foster domestic development. Many are pension funds, charged with preserving intergenerational welfare and providing for an ageing population. These objectives are noble, but are not solely altruistic concerns, since global stability challenges may also affect the financial performance of an SWF and the socio-political stability of the sovereign power that governs a fund. SWFs thus have both the capacity and the economic motive to engage with issues of financial, environmental, and social governance.

Could the emergence of these large, liquid, publicly-owned funds with lengthened outlooks also signal the emergence of a new form of capitalism?

Part of the Sustainable Investment CGT Signature Research Project.

Panels

The State of Sovereign Wealth Funds

  • José Antonio Ocampo (moderator), Professor of Professional Practice in International & Public Affairs, Columbia University, School of International & Public Affairs, Committee on Global Thought.
  • Antoinette Schoar, Michael Koerner '49 Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management.
  • Gordon Clark, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford.
  • Adair Morse, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
  • Luc Laeven, Deputy Division Chief, Research Department, International Monetary Fund.
  • Rachel Ziemba, Senior Research Analyst of Middle Eastern and Asian Economies, Roubini Global Economics.

Benchmarking and Performance Standards

  • Pierre-Andre Chiappori (moderator), E. Rowan and Barbara Steinschneider Professor of Economics, Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
  • Eric Parrado, Professor, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Business School.
  • Andrew Ang, Ann F. Kaplan Professor of Business, Columbia University, Business School.
  • Shari Spiegel, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations.
  • Bob Litterman, Co-Developer, Black-Litterman Global Asset Allocation Model.

Fostering Development through Socially Responsible Investment

  • Stephany Griffith-Jones (moderator), Financial Markets Program Director, Columbia University, Initiative for Policy Dialogue.
  • Augustin Landier, Professor of Finance, Toulouse School of Economics.
  • Antony Bugg-Levine, Managing Director, Rockefeller Foundation.
  • Arnaud Ventura, Co-Founder and Vice President, PlaNet Finance.
  • Dag Dyrdal, Chief Strategic Relations Officer, Norges Bank Investment Management.
  • Gavin Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, International Finance Corporation, Asset Management.

Expanding Investment Horizons: Opportunities for Long-Term Investors

  • Patrick Bolton (moderator), Barbara and David Zalaznick Professor of Business, Columbia University, Business School, Committee on Global Thought.
  • Javier Santiso, Director, Telefonica International, Professor of Economics, Business School, ESADE.
  • José Scheinkman, Theodore A. Wells '29 Professor of Economics, Princeton University.
  • Frederic Samama, Head of Financial Solutions, Amundi I.S., Head of SWF Research Initiative, IEF, Université Paris Dauphine.
  • Martin Skancke, Director General, Asset Management Department, Norwegian Ministry of Finance.

Reducing Climate Risk

  • Peter Goldmark (moderator), Director, Climate and Air Program, Environmental Defense Fund.
  • Roger Guesnerie, Professor of Economics, Collège de France.
  • Philippe Aghion, Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University.
  • David Jhirad, Professor and Director, Energy, Resources & Environment Program, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
  • Paul Dickinson, Chief Executive Officer, Carbon Disclosure Project.
  • Stefan Heck, Director, Leader of Global Clean Tech Practice, McKinsey & Company.

Managing Risk during Macroeconomic Uncertainty

  • Joseph Stiglitz (moderator), University Professor, Columbia University, Committee on Global Thought.
  • Rob Johnson, Director of the Economic Policy Initiative, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.
  • Oliver Fratzscher, Executive Vice-President and Chief Economist, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec.
  • Min Zhu, Special Advisor to the Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.
  • Andrés Velasco, Sumitomo Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Former Minister of Finance of Chile.

Managing Commodity Price Volatility

  • Geoffrey Heal (moderator), Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Columbia University, Business School.
  • Ignacio Briones, Head of International Finance, Ministry of Finance, Chile, Pension Reserve and Social and Economic Stabilization Fund.
  • Marie Brière, Head of Fixed Income, FX and Volatility Strategy, Amundi Asset Management.
  • Jukka Pihlman, Asset Management Advisor, International Monetary Fund.
  • John Sfakianakis, Chief Economist, Saudi Fransi Bank.

Sovereign Wealth Funds and World Governance

  • Saskia Sassen (moderator), Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University, CGT Co-Chair.
  • Edward Greene, Partner, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP.
  • Anna Gelpern, Associate Professor of Law, American University.
  • Adrian Orr, Chief Executive Officer, New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
  • Ronald Gilson, Marc and Eva Stern Professor of Law and Business, Columbia University, Law School.
  • Katharina Pistor, Michael I. Sovern Professor of Law, Columbia University, Law School, Committee on Global Thought.

Participating Organizations

  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
  • Abu Dhabi Investment Council
  • Future Fund (Australia)
  • State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  • Central Bank of Brazil
  • Ministry of Finance, Brazil
  • Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec
  • OMERS (Canada)
  • Pension Reserve and Social and Economic Stabilization Fund (Chile)
  • China Development Bank
  • State Administration of Foreign Exchange (China)
  • Caisse des Depots et Consignations (France)
  • Predica (France)
  • Hong Kong Monetary Authority
  • Government Pension Investment Fund (Japan)
  • Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Italy)
  • Korea Investment Corporation
  • Kuwait Investment Authority
  • National Fund for Hydrocarbon Reserves (Mauritania)
  • Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (Morocco)
  • Government Institutions Pension Fund (Namibia)
  • New Zealand Superannuation Fund
  • Government Pension Fund Global (Norway)
  • Ministry of Finance, Russia
  • Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
  • First Swedish National Pension Fund
  • Ministry of Finance, Trinidad and Tobago
  • State Capital Investment Corporation (Vietnam)
  • TIAA-CREF (USA)

Sponsoring Organizations

Sovereign Wealth Fund Research Initiative

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Research Initiative (SWF RI) was established in 2009, bridging the gap between academics, policy makers and fund managers to identify new and innovative solutions for sustainable capitalism. The SWF RI is an independent organization and is partly sponsored by Amundi Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Credit Agricole Group. CGT and SWF RI collaborate on programming related to sovereign wealth funds.

World Leaders Forum (Columbia University)

Established in 2003 by Lee C. Bollinger, the World Leaders Forum is a year-round event series aimed to advance lively, uninhibited dialogue on the large economic, political, and social questions of our time. The Forum's roster of past participants features many of heads of state, in addition to other global thought leaders from a broad spectrum of fields and all regions of the world. A few of the many remarkable past participants are Presidents Bill Clinton, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, and the Dalai Lama. World Leaders Forum events have garnered press coverage by news media organizations including the Associated Press, the BBC, and PBS, among others.

Amundi Asset Management

Amundi was formed by combining the asset management expertise of two major banking groups: Crédit Agricole and Société Générale. This partnership reflects the two groups' shared vision of asset management responding to the new challenges facing the industry and allowing them to serve their clients more effectively.

With €675.5 billion in assets under management, Amundi is one of the world market leaders in asset management. Amundi has management teams operating in the major financial centers in Europe (Paris, London, Milan), in Asia (Japan, Hong-Kong, Singapore), Australia and the US. Amundi has a strong local presence and is committed to offering its clients a relationship defined by both proximity and a long term view. It actively manages all asset classes and main currencies (Euro, Yen, Dollar, Sterling).

Amundi pledges to respect the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). As one of the market leaders in asset management, Amundi Group has to be both exemplary and has to assume significant responsibilities in terms of transparency and conducting its activities with a long-term view.

Caisse des Depots et Consignations (France)

The Caisse des Dépôts group is a "public group serving general interest and economic development". Created in 1816 to restore confidence following the financial crisis after the Napoleonic wars, its first task is to "receive, conserve and return the values entrusted to it". From there onwards, its missions have kept growing to correspond to the country's pressing issues.

Credit Agricole CIB

Crédit Agricole CIB is the Corporate and Investment Banking arm of the Crédit Agricole Group, the world's thirteen largest, Europe's third-largest and France's first-largest bank on the basis of Tier 1 capital (The Banker - July 2010). The Group is present in 70 countries and has 162,000 employees worldwide.With around 13,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Crédit Agricole CIB offers its clients a comprehensive range of products and services in capital markets, brokerage, investment banking, structured finance, corporate banking and international private banking.