Question: what is the purpose of sovereign wealth fund

title: Sovereign wealth fund
text: Sovereign wealth funds have existed for more than a century , but since 2000 , the number of sovereign wealth funds has increased dramatically . The first SWFs were non-federal U.S. state funds established in the mid-19th century to fund specific public services . The U.S. state of Texas was thus the first to establish such a scheme , to fund public education . The Permanent School Fund ( PSF ) was created in 1854 to benefit primary and secondary schools , with the Permanent University Fund ( PUF ) following in 1876 to benefit universities . The PUF was endowed with public lands , the ownership of which the state retained by terms of the 1845 annexation treaty between the Republic of Texas and the United States . While the PSF was first funded by an appropriation from the state legislature , it also received public lands at the same time that the PUF was created . The first SWF established for a sovereign state is the Kuwait Investment Authority , a commodity SWF created in 1953 from oil revenues before Kuwait gained independence from the United Kingdom . According to many estimates , Kuwait 's fund is now worth approximately US $600 billion .