| The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) was launched in 1999 to manage the country’s burgeoning oil and gas revenues; today, the fund manages some $37.1 billion in assets. SOFAZ is an extra-budgetary institution as well as a stabilization fund — it has responsibilities to the government and national development projects. This means that it needs ready access to liquid assets, and it consequently keeps most of its portfolio in government bonds.
In recent years, however, SOFAZ has started to implement a more adventurous strategy, diversifying its portfolio by adding alternative assets such as private equity, infrastructure and real estate. Israfil Mammadov, SOFAZ’S CIO and deputy CEO, spoke to Sovereign Wealth Center’s David Evans about the fund’s diversification drive. The transcript has been edited for space, grammar and context...............................................Full Article: Source
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