NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money, I'm Waylon Wong.

And I'm Patty Hirsch.

There's a point in a recent episode of the HBO TV series,

Industry, where a certain type of financial instrument makes a surprise cameo.

Picture a bank boardroom at 4 a.m. in London,

filled with sweaty people in shirt sleeves.

Surely there are a number of sovereign wealth funds that I'd like to grow their

steak and pier point. All right no spoilers here especially if you haven't seen the

season finale yet but sovereign wealth funds are having a bit of a moment

right now you can never accuse them of living in the shadows exactly but

recently both members of the Biden administration and the Trump campaign have been heard floating the idea

of an American sovereign wealth fund.

Yeah, and this is an idea that has for the most part attracted snorts of derision from political scientists and economists. But before we leap to judgment, let's do a little due diligence.

Due diligence is my love language, Patty. I know it is. On today's show, we'll learn what a sovereign wealth fund is and how these

funds came about and then we'll hear a bit more about whether a US National

Sovereign Wealth Fund is a good or even viable idea. That's coming up after the break.

I promised you an explanation of what a sovereign wealth fund is and for that we're going to hear from Tyler Cohen.

He's a professor of economics at George Mason University and a long time friend of the

indicator.

The Sovereign Wealth Fund arises when a government has some excess money and it takes that money

and it invests it and the idea is to earn a highly positive rate of return on that

...