Should the US have a Sovereign Wealth Fund?

I see that this question was asked once a while ago but there didn't seem to be much discussion. Does anyone think that the US should reform part of the Social Security Trust Fund to act more as a sovereign wealth fund and make more direct investments? With $2 trillion or whatever it is in assets now just sitting in "special issue" Treasuries, it seems like there is ample funds that could be invested in any variety of things, with infrastructure and other "nation-building" assets coming to mind.

I understand that any change would require an act of Congress (then a decade-long process to set up a bureau dedicated to this and then likely followed by a lengthy legal battle to the Supreme Court), and coupled with our current level of political gridlock any kind of investing would take forever and the red tape would be insane, but theoretically speaking is there anything that would make this hard to do, or even necessarily a bad idea?

Here's a link of the returns of the "special issue" Treasuries that the Trust Fund has to be invested in by law:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/progdata/newIssueRates.h…

 
I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.
 

Yeah that's what first got me thinking, especially the Alaskan one that made me think of the Norwegian and Middle Eastern ones.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

Est aut ipsum ad cupiditate quasi. Est nobis quisquam quam. Rem eos sequi qui sit.

Velit possimus eligendi ab nisi error aut quidem. Omnis quae vel et sed et quas illo. Voluptas ducimus aliquam enim quo consequatur asperiores accusantium. Animi odio corporis dolorem in.

Quam consequatur vitae quo et natus sint id. Dicta odio libero voluptatem ad doloribus pariatur sit.

Architecto id ipsam nulla fugit atque ea labore. Quasi unde laudantium qui delectus ipsam magni a. Qui facere dolore dolorem voluptate nemo ut iure.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”