Asset AllocationJanuary 2, 2024

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Was Biggest Spender Among Peers in 2023

This sovereign wealth fund invested $31.6 billion last year, the highest of all SWFs, according to Global SWFs annual report.

Reported by Matt Toledo

In 2023, sovereign wealth funds did not invest as much as they did in 2022, according to Global SWF’s 2024 Annual Report. Total investment from SWFs declined to $124.7 billion in 2023 from $155.5 billion in 2022.

Still, some funds upped their investments in 2023. The biggest sovereign investor was Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which deployed $31.6 billion across 49 deals, a 33% increase over 2022.

While many SWFs pulled back their investments according to the report, the PIF made a number of high-profile deals, such as the $4.9 billion acquisition of U.S. gaming company Scopely and a 10% stake in the owner of Heathrow Airport.

Out of the top 10 sovereign investors in 2023, five were from Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Saudi Arabia’s PIF was the largest, with the UAE’s Mubadala and ADIA at third and fourth place, with $17.5 billion and $13.2 billion invested in 2023, respectively. Qatar’s QIA was eighth, with $5.9 billion deployed in 2023, followed by the UAE’s ADQ, which invested $5.8 billion last year.

The other five included Singapore’s GIC, dethroned from its top spot; the fund was the second largest sovereign investor last year, investing $19.9 billion. Canada’s CPP and BCI came in fifth and sixth, deploying $9.4 and 7.3 billion, respectively. Canada’s OTPP came in 10th with $5.3 billion invested in 2023.

Sovereign investors from the Gulf have significantly improved their status among all SWFs. In 2018, the list of largest sovereign investors was dominated by Singapore’s GIC, the largest sovereign investor between 2018 and 2022. Canadian pension funds also dominated the list five years ago. According to Global SWF, Canadian funds reduced their activity by 36% in 2022.

According to a report from WTW in November, SWFs are increasing their share of assets among the world’s largest 100 asset owners, making up 38.9% of assets in 2022, up from 32% in 2021.