The head of Saudi Arabia’s $320 billion pension fund manager is stepping down later this year after 12 years in the role, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.
Saad Alfadly decided to leave Hassana Investment Co., effective July 1, and remain on the firm’s board, which is currently searching for his successor. Alfadly joined Hassana when it was created as the investment arm of the kingdom’s General Organization of Social Insurance. He also led it through a merger with the Public Pension Agency in 2021.
That deal helped catapult Hassana into the ranks of the largest pension funds globally. Since then, the fund has become an increasingly active global investor. Last year, it signed agreements with EIG Global Energy Partners and Brookfield to explore backing new Middle East investment funds that the two firms are launching. It also said it would invest $1.5 billion in TPG’s climate funds.
The world’s largest investors in recent years have been flocking to Saudi Arabia to form partnerships with the likes of Hassana and the nearly $1 trillion Public Investment Fund as the kingdom looks to boost returns on its vast savings and attract more firms to invest in the Middle East.
“Under Saad’s leadership Hassana has become a top 10 global pension fund investment manager, with the performance to match,” the firm’s chairman Abdullah Al Saadan said in the memo.
Hassana delivered returns of over 12% for the three years ended Dec. 31, 2021, the last time it disclosed information on the performance of its investments.
Alfadly previously held senior positions with Morgan Stanley in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Central Bank, according to Hassana’s website.
