Texan World Order: The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Turns Dallas Cowboys Into a Family Office

SWFI sells its research and data via subscriptions to asset managers, banks, researchers, universities, governments, institutional investors, asset owners, corporations, law firms and other entities.

The GOOD Fellows Initiative website, an integral part of the non-profit SWFI Foundation and the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI) ®, is intended solely for informational purposes. The content and materials provided herein do not constitute professional advice and should not be relied upon as such.

Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI) recently announced that it will hold its Family Office Round Table (FORT) North America 2023 in Dallas, Texas, on October 10, 2023.

As part of the event, SWFI® presents an opportunity for Indian startups seeking strategic partnerships and Series-B institutional capital in to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to globally renowned sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), family offices, Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) investors.

FORT North America 2023, which is the largest family offices conference in Dallas, will witness the convergence of innovation, public and private wealth transcending geographical boundaries. To be held at the iconic venue of The Star, the global headquarters of Dallas Cowboys (the world’s most valuable sports team), the event will bring investors and entrepreneurs to the financial capital of Texas.

As Texas is home to the one of the largest Indian-American communities residing in the US, the local ecosystem also holds a deep understanding of the Indian startups.

As per SWFI® estimates, global SWFs doubled down on their direct investments into India at US $6.7 billion in 2022 as against US $3.7 billion in 2021, indicating confidence in the country’s prospects. India is expected to become the world’s third largest economy by 2030, as per a Morgan Stanley report released late last year.

The country has conditions in place for an economic boom fuelled by offshoring, investment in manufacturing, energy transition and the advanced digital infrastructure, as per the report. It is expected that sovereign wealth funds will support this growth through their investments and know-how in Indian startups.

Of the six global startups that will be presenting their five-minute elevator pitches at FORT North America 2023, two will be Indian, representing the fast-growing startup ecosystem in the country. Startups that have surpassed the US $100 million valuation mark post Series-A and exhibit a reliable business strategy, will be presented the opportunity to present their pitches.

Through the network of the global investors present at the event, successful startups will be enabled with support beyond capital such as international market access, strategic expertise, etc.

Since its inception, SWFI® has been hosting successful global forums to bring together the world’s largest investors, SWFs, pensions, foundations, large family offices, and industry leaders, to facilitate knowledge sharing and impactful deal-making. Earlier in May 2023, SWFI® hosted its Global Wealth Conference in London at the historic Guildhall and the House of Commons.

In line with this tradition, this event in Texas will feature keynote speeches and panel discussions delving into topics such as ‘Private Equity Trends and Opportunities for 2023 and Beyond’, ‘Capital Convergence: Family Office Deal Flow and Institutional Co-investment Landscape’, ‘The Nexus of Private Capital and Sovereign Wealth Funds and Public Funds’, besides others.

Announcing FORT North America 2023, Lakshmi Narayanan, Chairman, SWFI®, said, “As a critical industry liaison, we at SWFI® look forward to help catalyse cross-border collaborations across the ecosystem through FORT North America 2023. Against the backdrop of the landmark 91-acre headquarters of Dallas Cowboys, the event will serve as a platform to help drive meaningful growth and partnerships in the ecosystem. Indian startups will receive the unique opportunity to pitch to an audience of leading investors, family offices, endowment funds and policymakers.”

FORT North America 2023 will also feature the Global Order of Outstanding Disruptors (GOOD) Fellow Awards recognition, internationally acclaimed for acknowledging individual contributions to creating impact with wealth, knowledge and power. Some of the past GOOD Fellow Award winners include Lord Meghnad Desai and actor Vivek Oberoi, among others.

Peter Knez is a former Chief Investment Officer at BlackRock, following its acquisition of Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”) where he was Global Chief Investment Officer for fixed income.

In BGI, Peter grew AUM from $5 billion to $40 billion in the U.S., doubled AUM to $80 billion globally, and achieved 28% revenue growth year over year.

Prior to that, Peter held positions with Lincoln Capital Management and Goldman Sachs, where he led quantitative research and fixed income.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Peter held professorship positions at Kellogg School of Management, University of Wisconsin and University of Chicago.

Peter completed his PhD work at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania and post-doctoral work at the University of Chicago, with a research focus on term structure models and asset allocation.