Qatar Investment Authority’s $10 Billion Plan

The sovereign fund’s CEO has revealed plans to invest up to $20 billion in Asian assets in the next five years.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the world’s most opaque sovereign wealth fund, has announced a $10 billion investment fund in Asia.

On Monday, the estimated-$170 billion organization signed a memorandum with CITIC Group, China’s largest conglomerate, to launch a 50/50 investment vehicle dedicated to the country’s assets.

According to QIA’s CEO Ahmad Al-Sayed, the fund plans to pledge as much as $15 billion to $20 billion in the next five years in Asian health care, infrastructure, and real estate.

“We see real long-term investment potential in companies here in China because of the increasing availability of interesting sustainable investment opportunities as the economy develops and diversifies, the growing brand and stature of large Chinese corporates, and the continuing emergence of an affluent and increasingly discerning middle class,” Al-Sayed said at an investment conference in Beijing.

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He added the sovereign wealth fund would continue to invest in Europe—where it had aggressively acquired assets such as London’s Harrods department store—but felt the “need to diversify asset allocations and geographical location.”

“We are a financial investor focused on long-term investment performance and we invest internationally across all asset classes,” Al-Sayed said. He announced QIA will be expanding its office in Beijing and New Delhi, and plans to open a new office in New York.

QIA was recently criticized by Switzerland-based political risk consultancy GeoEconomica for falling significantly behind its peers in governance standards.

The firm identified QIA as the only fund that was non-compliant with the “good governance and financial disclosure standards” agreement laid out in 2008—known as the Santiago Principles—and said it “has yet to take any meaningful steps to meet some of the principles’ basic disclosure standards.”

Earlier this year, another GeoEconomica report said QIA has begun to shed its nickname “the deal hunter.” It said the Qatari fund’s asset allocation behaviors have become more conservative to better align with the nation’s economic development agenda and stronger regional presence.

“Given Qatar’s economic development agenda for the years ahead, any sensible sovereign wealth investment policy will necessarily have to factor in the uncertainties and risks that the country is and will be exposed to in a tense geo-economic space,” the report said. “Qatar’s more exposed international position today might result in QIA taking a more holistic investment approach in the future.”

Related Content: Slow Progress on SWF Governance Standards, How the ‘Deal-Hunter’ Qatar Investment Authority Became Introverted

AXA Presses Into US Market with New Group Chief

With the addition of a New York Life alum, the European asset manager has built out its US team to 160 staffers—with plans for more.

European multi-asset house AXA Investment Managers (IM) has added a new chief to its US client group as part of a swift and aggressive drive into the American market.

Effective today, New York Life alumnus Stephen Sexeny is in charge of the firm’s stateside distribution and servicing as head of the US client group.

Since December 2013, AXA IM has grown its American presence by 12 professionals to 160. Sexeny’s appointment apparently does not cap off its overseas drive. According to the firm, which manages upwards of $85 billion in assets from the US, “further hires are planned to support its growth ambitions in the region.”

Sexeny arrived to his new role following eight years in senior sales positions with New York Life affiliate Cornerstone Capital Management. Most recently, he served as head of business development and investor relations at the New York-based equities shop. 

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His background in institutional sales extends back to the early 1990s, where he led distribution and marketing for Boston Global Advisors. Prior to that role, Sexeny spent nearly a decade at State Street.

At AXA IM, he will report to Americas Head Xavier Thomin out of the US headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut. Thomin praised Sexeny’s “considerable experience and trusted relationships,” remarking that he will be “pivotal as we continue to expand our footprint in this important region.”

The firm’s heavy resource investment in the US has delivered some new business this year. A domestic reinsurer selected AXA IM for a $397 million investment-grade fixed income mandate, and it won an $82 million ticket from a San Antonio public pension fund.

AXA IM is far from the first major European fund manager to seek fresh clientele across the pond. Legal & General Investment Management—a market leader in the UK corporate pension space—set up an American outpost selling liability-driven investing (LDI) products in 2006. Since then, the firm has acquired a substantial target-date fund business (Global Index Advisors) and gathered $48 billion in US assets, $26 billion of which belong to its LDI operation. 

Worldwide, AXA IM manages roughly €607 billion ($760 billion) in client assets. 

Related Content: Coming to America

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