(Bloomberg) -- The normally quiet world of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds was jolted by a series of changes this week.
Qatar named a new chief executive officer for its $510 billion fund, Kuwait is replacing the head of its $1 trillion state-backed investor, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is in the midst of a strategic shift.
In all, regional entities oversee close to $4 trillion of assets, making them key players in global dealmaking. That means some of these moves, and any changes to investment strategies, could reverberate across the financial ecosystem.
For a sense of scale: Sovereign funds from Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar made up 40% of the value of all deals done by global state-backed investors during the the first nine months of 2024, according to data from Global SWF.
The new leaders at both funds will need to navigate challenges including a Donald Trump presidency, the West’s evolving relationship with China and the growing competition between the Gulf states themselves as they diversify economically.
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Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority counts Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan as its chairman, and ranks as the largest Gulf wealth fund. The $993 billion entity is embracing an increasingly scientific approach to investing, leaning more on its own quant team to speed up decision-making as it seeks to bolster returns.
As part of the broad changes Bloomberg News exclusively reported this week, it’s also putting money more rapidly in private credit and has continued to ramp up allocations to private equity. In addition, ADIA is working with a wider range of hedge funds offering everything from long-only bets to quant wagers, although its overall exposure to that sector won’t necessarily increase.
The fund has been a prolific investor, and was one of the backers of Bobby Jain’s high profile hedge fund startup, Bloomberg News reported at the time. In the first three quarters of the year, ADIA and Abu Dhabi’s two other main funds combined invested $36 billion broadly, according to data from Global SWF.
ADIA is one of Abu Dhabi’s three wealth funds that together oversee close to $1.5 trillion. Of these, Sheikh Tahnoon also oversees ADQ, which has snapped up assets worth billions in Egypt and pledged investments to help shore up Turkey’s economy. It’s also been at the forefront of deals orchestrated with an eye on food security, including an agreement to buy a stake in Louis Dreyfus Co.
Kuwait Investment Authority
Like ADIA, the Kuwait Investment Authority doesn’t disclose the size of its assets. Estimates from Global SWF peg it at about $969 billion, making it the second-largest Gulf fund and the world’s fifth biggest.
Its managing director — Ghanem Al-Ghenaiman — is departing after three years, Bloomberg News reported, capping a turbulent tenure atop the global investor. Al-Ghenaiman is 65, the retirement age, and KIA board member Sheikh Saoud Salem Al-Sabah has assumed the role of MD, people familiar with the matter said.
Little is known about Al-Sabah, who is the son of a former central bank governor. The fund’s website details a career spanning 11 years in sectors including investment management, food and beverages and information technology. He was previously an associate for the Middle East and Africa unit at BlackRock Inc., the website shows.
For the KIA, the changes will come at a time when it’s been seen as falling behind its more ambitious, flashier neighbors in terms of capital deployed. It’s also been beset by challenges in recent years, coinciding with a period of political upheaval in Kuwait. Still, a broad market rally last year drove double-digit returns.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the leadership re-jig would affect strategy at the fund, which this year has largely focused on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, data centers and semiconductors. More than 50% of the KIA’s investments are in the US, followed by the European Union and the UK, Asia and emerging markets.
Public Investment Fund
The $925 billion Public Investment Fund, which counts Yasir Al Rumayyan as its governor, has emerged as the main entity driving Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 strategy aimed at overhauling the kingdom’s economy. It’s the third-largest Middle East sovereign investor, based on Global SWF data.
From futuristic megacity Neom and deals upending the economics of global sport, to investments in mining, gaming and technology, the fund is leading the way on Saudi Arabia’s diversification efforts. The crown prince is chairman of the PIF and has helped shaped its strategy, including a move into sectors like gaming. Meanwhile, Al Rumayyan, who’s in his fifties and a keen golfer himself, was instrumental in deals like the PGA-LIV Golf merger.
Over the past few years, the fund has started to pump more money into domestic investments. That’s boosting the profile of a low-key executive who’s now being courted by global firms looking to do deals in the kingdom — Yazeed Al Humied. He is one of the fund’s two deputy governors and runs its Middle East and North Africa unit.
He was the executive handpicked to deliver a blunt message to firms eying business and big checks from Riyadh. Foreign outfits should set up “not just their reception desks but their kitchens” in Saudi Arabia if they want to continue raising money from the PIF, Al Humied told attendees at a summit last year.
Turqi Al Nowaiser, the fund’s other deputy governor, oversees international investments.
Still, Al Rumayyan — who helped chart the fund’s evolution from a sleepy holding company into a global force that’s backed the world’s biggest fund managers and private equity deals — remains front and center.
He is a key adviser to the crown prince, the chairman of Saudi Aramco as well as the English Premier League’s Newcastle United Football Club, and sits on the board of Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani’s flagship firm. Catapulted from running a local investment bank to overseeing one of the fastest growing wealth funds, he’s among the most influential names in finance.
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Qatar Investment Authority
Earlier this week, Qatar named Mohammed Al Sowaidi as the chief executive officer of its $510 billion sovereign wealth fund, which is set to become even more financially powerful in coming years. Al Sowaidi, who joined the fund in 2010, was most recently its chief investment officer for the Americas region and helped establish a US office.
He replaced Mansoor Al Mahmoud, who had led the entity since 2018. Al Sowaidi’s approach will be closely watched — Qatar’s gas output is likely to add more than $30 billion to state revenues, potentially giving him an even larger mandate. His experience in the US might be viewed as an advantage at a time when the world is preparing for a Trump presidency.
During the past five years, the QIA has looked to invest more into the US, partly to re-balance its portfolio away from Europe. It has plowed money into sectors like technology and health care, and plans to deploy more into Asia and the US, as well as sectors including digitization and infrastructure.
Previously known for a penchant for trophy assets, including the iconic Harrods department store in London’s upmarket Knightsbridge neighborhood, the QIA also played a key role in supporting lenders during the 2008 financial crisis, backing the likes of Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse.
Mubadala Investment Co.
Mubadala is one of the region’s most influential funds. It’s overseen by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, a prominent Emirati executive, who has been its CEO for close to two decades. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a brother to Sheikh Tahnoon and UAE’s President Mohammed bin Zayed, is the fund’s chairman.
From investments in health care to finance, Mubadala has been at the forefront of attempts to diversify Abu Dhabi away from oil. The $302 billion sovereign wealth fund is dwarfed by others like ADIA in size, but it’s become increasingly powerful in global finance, entertainment and technology.
On Al Mubarak’s watch it’s pulled off high profile deals. The fund deployed $24.2 billion last year into a range of sectors including AI, an area where Abu Dhabi is seeking to make greater inroads. Alongside AI firm G42, Mubadala was one of the founding partners of a technology investment firm called MGX in the UAE.
Like some other regional investors, the fund also took significant strides toward growing its private credit business through a joint venture with Apollo Global Management to lend about $2.5 billion and a JV with Ares Management Corp. to deploy about $1 billion. Mubadala has also backed private equity giant Silver Lake’s bid to take Hollywood entertainment firm Endeavor private.
Al Mubarak is also chairman of Manchester City Football Club, giving him a foothold in the world of sports.
--With assistance from Anjali Cordeiro.
(Updates with confirmation of KIA MD’s departure)
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