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20 April 2024

Abu Dhabi fund unveils its investment strategy

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Tower (Joseph J Capellan)

Published
By AFP

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, believed to be the world's largest wealth fund, on Monday revealed for the first time the distribution of its assets estimated at around $500 billion.

ADIA, in its first ever annual review, said it invests between 60 per cent and 85 per cent of its holdings in North America and Europe and between 25 per cent and 45 per cent in Asia and emerging markets.
 
The report, which was issued as part of moves towards increased transparency, however, did not reveal the actual size of ADIA assets, which some reports put as high as $800 billion.
 
Between 46 per cent and 65 per cent of ADIA assets are held in developed equities, emerging market equities and to a lesser extent in small cap equities, it said.
Ten to 20 per cent are invested in government bonds, five per cent to 10 per cent in hedge funds and managed funds, and up to 10 per cent is held in cash, the report said.
 
Established in 1976 to manage excess oil wealth of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, ADIA's rate of return averaged an annual eight percent over the past 30 years and 6.5 per cent per annum during the past 20 years, it said.
 
A report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development last year said ADIA was severely impacted by the global financial crisis, shedding $183 billion of its assets in 2008 alone.
 
The UN report estimated the value of ADIA assets at $329 billion at the end of 2008, but as oil prices recovered and investments worldwide regained value, the fund's assets are also expected to have gained last year.