Sovereignty, Accountability, and the Wealth Fund Governance Conundrum

Sovereign wealth funds-state-controlled transnational portfolio investment vehicles-began as an externally imposed category in search of a definition. SWFs from different countries had little in common and no desire to collaborate. This article elaborates the implications of diverse public, private, domestic, and external demands on SWFs, and describes how their apparently artificial grouping became a site for innovation in international law-making.