Enhancing the Transparency Dialogue in the 'Santiago Principles' for Sovereign Wealth Funds

Abstract

Compliance with the Principles for sovereign wealth funds (SWF) remains measured. This underlines the inherent political nature of SWFs, as they reflect the norms and conventions of their sponsors as regards transparency. Like any voluntary standard, compliance relies on the goodwill of the organization, and ultimately the organization's sponsor. Compliance is furthermore complicated when varying interpretations are present as to the requirements of the standard. In this short essay, I offer an explicit treatment of transparency in its different forms such that SWFs, their sponsors, and external analysts have a discursive device for evaluating and communicating when and why (and why they think) certain non-disclosures are legitimate, or, more importantly, when and why transparency in one domain may diminish the significance of disclosure in other areas, thus reducing the significance of non-disclosure in those areas. The aim, then, is to encourage dialogue on non-disclosure in conjunction with the Santiago Principles, as doing so leads, in my view, to increased transparency overall.