The Use of Fintech in Sovereign Wealth Fund Operations

with Francisco Pavlic In The Palgrave Handbook on Sovereign Wealth Funds (2024) This chapter reviews the use of financial technologies (Fintechs) in sovereign wealth fund (SWF) operations. Fintechs refer to technologies that transform financial processes, business models, applications, services, or products. The chapter describes three leading technological fields: artificial intelligence and machine learning, big data, and blockchain. Next, the chapter presents Fintech applications throughout the operation process of SWFs, both in terms of front-office activities such as deal sourcing, market research, financial analysis, risk management, portfolio optimization, voting, and governance of SWF’s portfolio investments; and back-office activities such as accounting, compliance, reporting, and transparency. Lastly, the chapter discusses next-generation Fintech applications and potential challenges.