快乐的星期五。这是新闻:
- Assets Under Management:Commodity revenues may be slumping, but most sovereign funds’ assets are still goingin the opposite direction. It’s interesting how you try to set up these investment vehicles that can be permanent and enduring sources of wealth for countries and then ... boom ... they do that.
- SDFs:Ireland’s Strategic Investment Fund willdeploybetween €500 million and €1 billion in new, domestic projects this year. The SDF is apparently considering over 100 proposals for investment that can deliver both cash returns and local “additionality”, such as job creation. Good luck!
- Government Ventures:Before you scoff at news the US Department of Defense isplanningto enter the venture capital landscape in Silicon Valley, ask yourself who first invented autonomous cars, cloud computing, virtual reality, the Internet and, hey why not, frikken laser beams. The real question we should all be asking is ... why has it taken the DoD this long?
- Quote of the Day:In reference to America’sinability to pay public pension employeesanything approaching a median wage for the finance industry: “Americans tend to get upset when public employees are paid millions — unless they’re college-football coaches.” Word.
- Infrastructure:China’s new $40 billion Silk Road Fund has signed its first infrastructureproject. It will apparently fund a big Chinese SOE to go into Pakistan and build a dam.
- News Flash:This just in from the bureau of obviousness: Very few pension fundsunderstandhow much they are paying private equity GPs. Very. Very. Few.
- Governance Fail:The Korea Investment Corporation’s Chair is so excited about the Dodgers — home of Korean player Hyun-jin Ryu — that he violated internal rules — and common sense — byactively sourcingan investment in the Los Angeles baseball team.
- White Knights:Russia will reportedly use$737 millionfrom its welfare fund to finance infrastructure projects.
- Real Estate:Norway’s Giant just bought a45% stakein a portfolio of US industrial real estate assets for $2.3 billion.
- Political Risk:The Canada Pension Plan and other Giants are aboutto get burnedby Norway on pipeline tariff reduction.
Have a great weekend!