Sovereign wealth fund investment decisions: Temasek Holdings

Abstract

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are investment portfolios and savings funds that are controlled and actively managed by a sovereign government. In this paper, we document the investment behaviour of a specific fund, Temasek Holdings, which is the Singapore government’s SWF. Using a sample dataset of 150 publicly listed Singapore firms over the period 2000—2004, we find evidence suggesting that Temasek has a predisposition to invest in firms that are relatively large and have few director block holders. The incentive to invest also increases in firms with lower systematic risk and with compensation schemes that provide the board of directors with stocks and options.