Take a look at our interactive map of natural resource funds, fund profiles and fund governance policy briefs.
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Natural resource funds held approximately $4.0 trillion in assets as of July 2014
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More than 55 natural resource funds have been established in about 40 countries at the national and subnational levels
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More than 30 new funds have been established since 2000 with several countries like Afghanistan, Bolivia, Cyprus, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Peru, Uganda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe considering creating new ones
What is a natural resource fund?
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A natural resource fund—a type of sovereign wealth fund—is a special-purpose investment vehicle owned by a government whose principal source of financing is revenue derived from oil, gas or mineral sales. Natural resource funds serve at least one of the following macroeconomic or governance objectives: saving for future generations, covering unexpected budget deficits, sterilizing capital inflows, earmarking resource revenues for specific expenditure items, and ring-fencing resource revenues. They employ a set of investment strategies that includes investing in foreign financial assets.
Why is natural resource fund governance important?
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Natural resource funds can help governments manage oil, gas and mineral revenues well. For example, they can be used to cover budget deficits when resource revenues decline, save finite revenues for future generations, or help alleviate the Dutch Disease. However they can also be sources of patronage or nepotism and can harm economic growth by undermining public financial management systems. In the over 40 countries with natural resource funds, fund transparency, accountability and appropriate operational rules are essential for transforming natural resource wealth into well-being.
About the NRGI-CCSI natural resource fund project
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The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) have conducted a world-wide survey of natural resource funds (NRFs), looking at their management, investments, transparency, and accountability to the public, as well as the fiscal rules that govern them. Policy briefs, the NRF profiles and the webpage have been designed to provide government officials, policymakers, researchers and citizens with information to better understand NRF governance and in particular to equip policymakers with the necessary background to set up funds or reform existing ones.
Abu Dhabi
(United Arab Emirates)
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Year established: 1976
Assets (2014): > $773 billion
OTHER FUNDS
International Petroleum Investment Authority
Year established: 1976
Assets (2013): $68.4 billion
Mubadala Development Company
Year established: 1976
Assets (2013): $60.9 billion
Alabama (USA)
Alabama Trust Fund
Year established: 1985
Assets (2014): $2.84 billion
Alaska (USA)
Alaska Permanent Fund
Year established: 1976
Assets (2014): $52.4 billion
Alberta (Canada)
Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund
Year established: 1976
Assets (2014): $16.2 billion
Algeria
Revenue Regulation Fund
Year established: 2000
Assets (2013): $70.9 billion
Angola
Angola Sovereign Fund
Year established: 2012
Assets (2012): $5 billion
Azerbaijan
State Oil Fund
Year established: 1999
Assets (2014): $36.6 billion
Bahrain
Future Generations Reserve Fund
Year established: 2006
Assets (2013): $0.22 billion
Botswana
Pula Fund
Year established: 1994
Assets (2013): $5.7 billion
Brunei
Brunei Investment Agency
Year established: 1983
Assets (2014): $39 billion
Chile
Pension Reserve Fund
Year established: 2006
Assets (2014): $7.6 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Social and Economic Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2007
Assets (2014): $15.9 billion
Colombia
Savings and Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets: not yet operational
Dubai (UAE)
Investment Corporation of Dubai
Year established: 2006
Assets (2013): $160 billion
Equatorial Guinea
Fund for Future Generations
Year established: 2002
Assets (2013): $0.2 billion
Gabon
Gabon Sovereign Wealth Fund
Year established: 1998
Assets (2013): $0.4 billion
Ghana
Ghana Heritage Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets (2013): $0.13 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Ghana Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets (2013): $0.32 billion
Iran
National Development Fund of Iran
Year established: 2011
Assets (2014): $62 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Oil Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2000
Assets: No information available
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan National Fund
Year established: 2000
Assets (2014): $76.6 billion
Kiribati
Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund
Year established: 1956
Assets (2013): $0.65 billion
Kuwait
Kuwait Investment Authority
Year established: 1953
Assets (2013): > $400 billion
Libya
Libyan Investment Authority
Year established: 2006
Assets (2012): $65 billion
Louisiana (USA)
Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund
Year established: 1986
Assets (2013): $1.2 billion
Malaysia
National Trust Fund
Year established: 1988
Assets (2011): $1.7 billion
Mauritania
National Fund for Hydrocarbon Reserves
Year established: 2006
Assets (2014): $0.09 billion
Mexico
Oil Revenues Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2000
Assets (2014): $3.47 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Mexican Fund for Stabilization and Development
Assets: not yet operational
Mongolia
Fiscal Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets (2014): $0.21 billion
Montana (USA)
Montana Permanent Coal Trust Fund
Year established: 1978
Assets (2013): $0.56 billion
Nauru
Phosphate Royalties Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2007
Assets: no information available
New Mexico (USA)
Land Grant Permanent Fund
Year established: 1898
Assets (2014): $14 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Severance Tax Permanent Fund
Year established: 1973
Assets (2014): $4.6 billion
Nigeria
Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority
Year established: 2011
Assets (2013): $0.98 billion
North Dakota (USA)
North Dakota Legacy Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets (2013): $1.2 billion
Northwest Territories (Canada)
Northwest Territories Heritage Fund
Year established: 2012
Assets (2013): $0.001 billion
Norway
Government Pension Fund Global
Year established: 1990
Assets (2014): $850 billion
Oman
State General Reserve Fund
Year established: 1980
Assets (2014): $13 billion
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Sovereign Wealth Fund
Year established: 2011
Assets: not yet operational
Qatar
Qatar Investment Authority
Year established: 2005
Assets (2014): $175 billion
Ras Al Khaimah (UAE)
RAK Investment Authority
Year established: 2005
Assets (2012): $1.2 billion
Russia
National Welfare Fund
Year established: 2008
Assets (2014): $87.9 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Reserve Fund
Year established: 2008
Assets (2014): $87.3 billion
Sao Tome and Principe
National Oil Account
Year established: 2004
Assets: no information available
Saudi Arabia
SAMA Foreign Holdings
Year established: 1952
Assets (2014): $730 billion
OTHER FUNDS
Public Investment Fund
Year established: 1971
Assets (2008): $5.3 billion
Texas (USA)
Texas Permanent University Fund
Year established: 1876
Assets (2014): $17.2 billion
Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund
Year established: 2005
Assets (2014): $15.7 billion
Turkmenistan
Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2008
Assets (2012): $0.5 billion
Trinidad and Tobago
Heritage and Stabilization Fund
Year established: 2000
Assets (2014): $5.4 billion
United Arab Emirates
Emirates Investment Authority
Year established: 2007
Assets (2013): $15 billion
Venezuela
Macroeconomic Stabilization Fund
Year established: 1998
Assets (2014): $0.002 billion
OTHER FUNDS
National Development Fund
Year established: 2005
Assets (2012): $18 billion
Western Australia (Australia)
Western Australian Future Fund
Year established: 2012
Assets (2011): $0.6 billion
Wyoming (USA)
Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund
Year established: 1974
Assets (2014): $7 billion
This is a joint project of the Natural Resource Governance Institute and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment under the direction of Andrew Bauer and Perrine Toledano.
We would like to acknowledge the contributions of our primary researchers Gubad Ibadoglu, Eric Li, Ben Utter and Malan Rietveld and thank our peer reviewers Joe Amoako-Tuffour, Dina Azhgaliyeva, Gawdat Bahgat, Sara Bazoobandi, Joe Bell, Jim Cust, Alexandra Gillies, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Patrick Heller, Antoine Heuty, Keith Jefferis, Daniel Kaufmann, Thomas Lassourd, Andrey Makarychev, Gregory McGuire, Robin Mills, José Antonio Ocampo, Eric Parrado, Michael Ross, Lisa Sachs, Martin Sandbu, Anya Schiffrin, Martin Skancke, Constance Smith, Emma Tarrant Tayou, Silvana Tordo, Ted Truman, and Sam Wills.