State Street teams with lawyers for SWF think-tank

A three-way research collaboration, between State Street, law firm K&L Gates and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, will deliver a series of bilateral webinars, thought pieces, research, and focused executive education programs, specifically for, and about, sovereign wealth funds.

The collaborative relationship aims to provide strategic insight, quantitative, independent research and thought leadership focused on public policy issues and investment challenges facing sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), institutional investors, central banks, governments and international organisations.

Tuft, which claims to be the oldest graduate school of international affairs in the US, says SWF assets are expected to grow to $5.5 trillion by 2012.

It says this shift in global capital flow to sovereign investors presents both opportunities and challenges that demand an independent forum with access to world-class resources that provide insight and critical thinking on topics ranging from resource nationalism and global capital markets to matters of socio-political risk, transparency and governance.

“Sovereign wealth funds continue to play an important role in the global financial landscape,” said Joseph Antonellis, vice-chairman of State Street Corporation. “This collaboration will help bring our quantitative research insights and innovative portfolio and risk management tools to an even broader academic audience to offer unique insights into this important market segment.”