Assets held by sovereign wealth funds across the globe increased 1.2% to $6.59 trillion in the 12 months through March, slowed down by global volatility, Preqin said.
For the year through March 2016, assets had grown 3.2% to $6.51 trillion.
Preqin analyzed the growth and asset allocations of 76 sovereign wealth funds. The 10 largest funds manage $5.2 trillion of that total, making up 79% of total sovereign wealth fund assets.
While growth was dampened by global volatility, funds reliant on hydrocarbon assets, including oil, saw the most growth for the year, increasing by $60 billion in the most recent 12-month period, compared to the previous year's loss of $10 billion. Funds reliant on non-commodity sources, as well as funds reliant on other commodities, grew by $10 billion in the 12 months through March. Funds reliant on non-commodity sources added $290 billion in the previous 12-month period, and those reliant on other commodities lost $80 billion in that same period.
Fifty-three percent of total industry capital is made up of hydrocarbon-funded sovereign wealth funds, while 46% are funded by non-commodities and 1% is funded by other commodities.
In terms of asset allocation, fewer funds invest in both public equities and fixed income, with 79% of funds investing in public equities, down from 80% the previous year and 78% in fixed income, down from 82% the previous year. Despite the drop, 26% of sovereign wealth funds invest only in public equities and fixed income.
The percentage of sovereign wealth funds that invest in all other asset classes increased in the past year, with the largest jump occurring in natural resources. Fifty-five percent of sovereign wealth funds invested in natural resources, up from 47% the previous year. Other significant increases were those funds that invest in private equity jumped to 61%, up from 55% and private debt increased to 39% of all sovereign wealth funds, up from 35%.
