Sustainable Investment: Sovereign Wealth Funds and Long-Term Investment

Fostering a sustainable capitalism through the creation of investment strategies and institutions that promote financial stability, environmental sustainability, and equitable development in partnership with long-term investors and sovereign wealth funds.

Sustainable Investment aims to bridge information gaps between academic research and sovereign wealth fund managers about long-term investing in short-term oriented markets. Its objective is to foster sustainable capitalism through the creation of investment strategies and institutions that promote financial stability, environmental sustainability, and equitable development in partnership with long-term investors and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).

The need for more long-term management reorientation and the demand for long-term investment products has never been greater. – Patrick Bolton

As evidenced by the countercyclical actions of SWFs during the financial crisis, these funds have the potential to act as a stabilizing force. Both sovereign wealth and pension funds have long been critical in providing wealth to future generations. While both SWFs and long-term investors have the potential to address the most pressing global stability challenges, further analysis and inquiry is required. This research initiative was developed to examine the role that SWFs and other long-term investors can play in creating a more sustainable capitalism through the provision of critical analysis, generation of new data, and the education of SWF and long-term investment fund personnel.

Since 2010, Sustainable Investment has hosted academic conferences and workshops designed to place academics in conversation with SWFs, long-term asset managers, and policymakers from across the world. Participants explored how these unique investment funds can play key roles in preventing and solving contemporary banking, climate, and development challenges.

Learn more about past events.

Key Questions

  • How can SWFs and other investors develop long-term investment strategies in financial markets characterized by short-term horizons?
  • What institutional designs and incentive structures can be used to induce asset managers, policy makers, and others to focus on long-term concerns?
  • How can investments be made that yield high social returns at a global scale, i.e. promoting equitable development and mitigating climate change?

Objectives

  • Foster new research by leading specialists and practitioners, convene discussions, engage fund managers and policy makers.
  • Develop new theories, knowledge, investment approaches, and institutional designs in the field of global finance research and sustainable capitalism.
  • Disseminate this knowledge to policy makers and business leaders.

Outcomes

  • Provide concrete ideas to drive innovation and facilitate investment initiatives.
  • Deliver executive education around the world to members utilizing Columbia Global Centers.
  • Broaden access to new research, tools, and investment advising.
  • Produce conferences, workshops, and publications to disseminate research and facilitate communication and cooperation across sectors.