First, here’s today’s news:
- The Teachers Retirement System of Texas will apparently buy 3% of F1 for $200 million? I would have figured TRS to be more of a NASCAR fan...
- The Dartmouth Endowment is apparently permitted to invest in the asset management firms linked to... the Trustees of the Dartmouth Endowment. What!? Seriously. That’s allowed.
- Here’s a useful article on the new Angolan SWF, the Fundo Soberano de Angola, which offers some details on who’s already managing the assets of the new fund.
- Sierra Leone President Koroma says he has plans for a new sovereign fund too.
- Here’s an interesting view from the head of the Oxford University Endowment: ‘Firms such as Carlyle are more interested in collecting fees for managing money than generating top returns for their backers.’
- The China Investment Corporation wants some of Canada’s resources, says CIC rep in Canada.
- Temasek, Mubadala, Khazanah, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are all looking to invest in the infrastructure development arm of Larsen & Toubro.
- And here’s a nice profile of the London Pensions Fund Authority.
Second, here’s some research for your weekend reading enjoyment:
Karl Widerquist and Michael W. Howard recently published an edited volume entitled “Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend: Examining its Suitability as a Model”. Here’s a blurb:
“Discussing the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) and Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) as a model both for resource policy and for social policy, contributors explore whether other states, nations, or regions would benefit from an Alaskan-style dividend. Many other jurisdictions could create similar funds and dividends, but most of them under-tax resources, giving resources away to corporations who sell them back to the people. Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend looks back at the success of the APF and PFD, and it looks forward (using theory and empirical investigation) to see how the Alaska model can be of use in other places and how the model might be altered and improved.”
The book offers some interesting facts about the Alaskan SWF, which has come to be viewed by many as an exemple to be followed. So if you’re looking to dig into the issues of resource revenue management through a state-run investment vehicle, this book is a great place to start.
Enjoy your weekend!
