Sovereign Wealth Funds are increasingly being perceived as investors motivated by political objectives, according to the results of a global poll of attitudes to SWFs, with Russia and China among those considered the most likely to have hidden agendas.

The Sovereign Brand Survey, conducted by consultants Hill & Knowlton and Penn Schoen Berland, interviewed "national elites" - including decision makers, top earners, and graduates - from nine countries on 19 SWFs and found that the perception of a SWF was closely linked to that of its country.