Sovereign wealth funds may withdraw $404.3 billion from global stock markets this year if oil prices remain in the $30 to $40 per barrel range, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

Wealth funds, which have amassed about $7 trillion in assets, exited about $213.4 billion of listed equities last year as the slump in crude oil put pressure on domestic finances, the Las Vegas-based SWFI said in an e-mailed report sent Monday.

"Two years ago, the cracks started to appear," according to the report. "The commodity-price scenario changed sovereign institutional investor behavior from their heydays starting in 2004, which include investing in the Chrysler Building, Chicago Parking Meters and bailing out banks like Citigroup."

Sovereign funds from Norway to Qatar and Saudi Arabia are seeking to counter the erosion of their finances after crude prices more than halved in the past year. Abu Dhabi is reassessing its largest state companies with an eye toward selling assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets tumbled more than $19 billion in December as the kingdom withdrew reserves to help sustain spending.