Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) as a heterogenous group of government-owned investment vehicles have evolved considerably since their inception to become mainstream players in global financial markets. This project aims to explore the place of SWFs in relation to ‘responsible investment’ and ‘sustainable finance’ from a legal perspective and with references to GIC Private Limited (GIC), the SWF of Singapore as a case study.

The project aims to provide an up-to-date and detailed compilation of the new standards and guidelines introduced by initiatives such as the ‘One Planet SWF Group’, the ‘Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure’ and the ‘Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance’ in relation to ESG-Responsible Investment applicable to SWFs. It examines the struggle to define the legal and institutional response to these new standards considering the cases of possible diversion and greenwashing that some of these new initiatives may bring because of their lack of enforceability and illustrates its key findings by recurring to specific examples of Singapore’s GIC because this fund has placed ESG at the centre of its investment and operational approach becoming a pioneer on sustainable/green investments initiatives.