Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth funds have assets of more than $1 trillion and employ some 3,000 people, with a report for the first time estimating the size of one of its four major funds.
Global SWF, a firm that tracks SWFs and public pension funds, also said in its March update that Abu Dhabi is the world's largest employer of wealth fund executives.
The third-largest fund is Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co., known as ADQ. The youngest of the Abu Dhabi funds — established in 2018, ADQ has $110 billion in assets according to global SWF. It is the first estimate of the fund's assets.
The fund employs more than 120 staff in one office and 96% of its investments are domestic. ADQ was initially launched as a domestic investor but is now deploying capital overseas. It is building in-house capabilities "rapidly," the report said, hiring at least 16 executives from fellow Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. Spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment.
The largest of the major funds is Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with $702 billion in assets and over 1,700 staff in three offices, the report said. The fund does not invest domestically. The second-largest, Mubadala, has $232 billion in assets and employs more than 1,000 staff in seven offices. The report said 47% of its investments are domestic.
The fourth fund is the Emirates Investment Authority, with $63 billion, 50-plus people in one office and 99% of investments are domestic.
Abu Dhabi's fiscal deficit in 2020 was an estimated 5.8% of gross domestic product, the report said — about $24 billion. Recent reforms mean three of the market's SWFs — ADIA, Mubadala and ADQ — may be tapped for dividends to help plug the deficit. "So, the dynamics between the three SWFs will surely be interested in the years to come. One thing is for sure, they will have a significant influence over what the Emirate will look like" in a decade, the report added.
Bloomberg contributed to this article.
