Trump orders the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. Here’s what that means.

Washington — President Trump on Monday took the first steps toward his administration creating a government-owned investment fund, tasking the heads of the Treasury Department and Commerce Department with beginning the process to create an American sovereign wealth fund. 

Mr. Trump signed an executive order that charges Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick, Mr. Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department, with beginning a process “that will hopefully result in the creation of an American sovereign wealth fund,” announced Will Scharf, Mr. Trump’s staff secretary. 

“We’re going to create a lot of wealth for the fund, and I think it’s about time this country had a sovereign wealth fund,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office Monday, calling the news “very exciting.” 

The president said the U.S. may somehow put TikTok in the sovereign wealth fund. A law that took effect in January was meant to ban the app in the U.S. unless its Chinese parent company sold it, but Mr. Trump has delayed enforcement of the law, keeping it alive for now.

Bessent said the creation of the fund will “monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people.” He said the sovereign wealth fund will be up and running within 12 months, putting U.S. assets to work for Americans. The treasury secretary said the Trump administration will study best practices around the world to develop the fund. 

Sovereign wealth funds generally use a nation’s reserves and invest the funds to generate returns, which can be used to address deficits, pay down debts or bolster savings. It’s unclear what types of safeguards would be placed around a U.S.-owned investment fund to ensure it has transparent reporting obligations and that the investments aren’t benefiting political allies. 

Other countries that have a sovereign wealth fund include China, Singapore, New Zealand, Norway and Saudi Arabia, among others. 

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund of Norway, is the largest in the world, with assets valued at $1.7 trillion, a substantial figure for a country of 5.5 million people. The Norwegian government is only permitted to spend a small part of the fund each year, but the total amounts to nearly 20% of its annual budget.