Sovereign Funds and External Asset Manager Fees: The Governance Connection

Abstract

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) vary widely in how they use external managers, but nearly all SWFs make significant use of external managers, particularly for alternative asset classes that are difficult to access or demand labor-intensive investment strategies, such as private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund strategies. Many SWFs — and those interested in the performance of SWFs, including government officials and citizens — are now asking whether the returns, net of fees, are worth the fees charged by these external managers. However, while external asset managers — and hedge fund and private equity managers in particular — have been criticized for their high fees (and, in 2015 in particular, high fees often coupled with poor performance), the governance and management of asset owners themselves may contribute to the problem.