Sovereign wealth funds control a total of $2.3trn and could quadruple in size over the next decade – can the current influx of US law firms edge aside established UK rivals to win their share? Amy Kolz reports
These are bleak times for corporate lawyers. But there is one ray of light in this storm – sovereign wealth funds. These funds, which are loosely defined as investment vehicles owned by foreign governments, have generated many headlines over the past 18 months. Their high-profile transactions range from the buyout of luxury retailer Barneys New York to multibillion-dollar investments in Wall Street banks. In 2007 alone, sovereign entities spent $92bn (£61.3bn) in publicly recorded equity transactions, according to Monitor Group.
