Barriers to Long-Term Cross-Border Investing: A Survey of Institutional Investor Perceptions

Abstract

Because of market failures, domestic investment resources are often insufficient to fully finance the public and private capital formation critical to global wealth preservation and growth. It is thus important to understand the factors that drive cross-border investments, including the potential fit between the objectives of international long-term investors and public policy objectives. This article reports the results of a survey of such investors. This research revealed that foreign policy factors were most likely to affect cross-border investment decisions; other influential factors included organizational issues. The survey also found a surprising gap between the responding funds’ aspiration to be long-term investors and their apparent willingness and/or ability to implement long-term investment strategies. These findings highlight the importance of a facilitative policy environment for understanding the benefits of, and implementing, long-horizon cross-border investments.

Keywords: Co-investing, Investment Regulation, Pension Fund, Public Goods, Short-Termism, Sovereign Wealth Funds