Joseph Bankman is the Ralph M. Parsons professor of law and business at Stanford Law School. Mark P. Gergen is the Robert and Joann Burch D.P. professor of tax law and policy at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

Sovereign wealth funds have been around for generations, and President Donald Trump wants the federal government to join in on the trend. But there are a few problems — namely, it’s never been done in a democracy as complex as the United States.

President Donald Trump has set a bold plan in motion for America’s financial future — one that mirrors the strategies of oil-rich nations and resource-heavy economies: a sovereign wealth fund. On February 3,