I am fascinated by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. Valued at over AUD$1 trillion it's a model for how you sensibly steward the natural wealth of a country (unlike other countries that have largely squandered their incredible good fortune of having lots of valuable commodities...no names mentioned, of course)

Buying into RPM Global is not unusual -- the fund has exposure to over 9,000 listed companies worldwide, or about 1.5% of all listed global equities. The profits cover about 20% of all government spending (and the government spends a lot, per person).

The returns aren't spectacular -- the average being 6%pa compound since 1998, or 3.7%pa after inflation -- but this is due to the mix of assets they hold (as you'd understand, they hold a lot of "risk free" fixed interest. The equity returns have been just shy of 10%pa over the last decade, and ahead of their benchmark.

So it seems the funds manager does a pretty decent job of stock picking. So i'll take it as a good sign they see value in RPM Global!