Assets held by state-owned investors soared by 6.4% in 2024 to $54.9 trillion, with these funds expected to reach $75 trillion by 2030 as Middle East nations “progress toward their ambitious economic visions,” a report said.
Data provider and state-owned investors research firm Global SWF said in its 2024 annual report that sovereign wealth fund assets hit $13 trillion as of end-2023, up 11.1% vs. figures a year earlier. Public pension funds saw assets grow by 4.2% to $25 trillion, while central bank foreign reserves increased by 6.3% to $16.9 trillion.
Those three sets of investors could reach $60 trillion in assets this year, growing further to $75 trillion by the end of the decade, the report said.
The Middle East and North Africa region was the largest by total assets, at $5.36 trillion. The three biggest investors are all sovereign wealth funds: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority at $1.11 trillion, Kuwait Investment Authority at $969 billion, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Riyadh, with $925 billion.
Asia was the second-largest region, with a collective $4.39 trillion. China Investment Corp., Beijing, ended the year with $1.33 trillion according to Global SWF’s report, followed by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange with $1.24 trillion, and Singapore’s GIC, at $847 billion.
Europe’s $2.3 trillion total in state-owned assets were dominated by Norges Bank Investment Management — the in-house manager of the Government Pension Fund Global, Oslo, with $1.8 trillion in assets. Similarly, almost half of the Oceania region’s $470 billion in total assets were attributed to Australia’s Future Fund, Melbourne.
North America’s $377 billion in total assets largely comprised public pension funds, such as the $80 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Juneau. The remaining regions in the report, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, accounted for $74 billion and $42 billion, respectively.
In terms of investment activity, the number of deals struck in 2024 did not show much change, with 585 vs. 593 in 2023. However, there was strong demand for large infrastructure and credit deals, the report said, with the average transaction size increasing to $370 million. The 2023 annual report showed an average transaction size of $350 million. All deals amounted to $216.6 billion, up 5.4% over the year.
However, the total value and number of deals were still below 2022 figures, of $261.6 billion across 748 transactions.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, with $330 billion in assets, was the lead investor in 2024. The sovereign wealth fund put $29.2 billion to work across 52 deals.
Global SWF’s top 10 global dealmakers included the remaining four Gulf Cooperation Council-based sovereign wealth funds — rounding out the so-called Oil Five: ADIA, Abu Dhabi’s $249 billion ADQ, Saudi Arabia’s PIF, and Doha-based Qatar Investment Authority.
The other funds in the top 10 dealmakers were GIC; Singapore’s Temasek; Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto; Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Montreal; and Amsterdam-based APG, which Global SWF classifies as a public pension fund.
In terms of where state-based funds invested, the U.K., Australia, Italy and Germany were “standout markets,” the report said, although India, China and Indonesia continued to gain prominence in portfolios. More than 50% of total capital was deployed into real assets, while private credit gained momentum with 12 megadeals — valued at more than $1 billion each.
Global SWF also highlighted churn at the top of state-owned investors, with 29 new CEOs and 16 newly appointed CIOs.
The report is available for download on Global SWF’s website.
