The world’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), has removed a team that focused on Japanese equities as part of its restructuring plan, media reports said.
It is reported that three portfolio managers also left the wealth fund. ADIA will continue to invest in Japanese equities as part of a passive portfolio only through its external managers. However, it is clear that ADIA has changed its approach towards Japanese equities investment.
Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have been making adjustments to generate higher returns as governments are scrambling to absorb the impact of lower oil prices.
It is reported that ADIA recorded a 20-year annualised returns of just 5.4 percent in 2018, which is very low. The reports have been produced by SWF Institute.
India has become one of the favourite investment destinations for ADIA as it has recently invested in the consumer business of Reliance Industries. Furthermore, ADIA’s counterparts in Saudi have also considered India as a hotbed for investments.
The sovereign wealth funds have also made a few changes in their team. It hired Stephen Malinak as global head of quantitative R&D, while Marcos Lopez de Prado and Anders Svennesen have been hired to look after the team which is developing the AI and ML space.
It is reported that two members of the wealth funds’ real estate division left. Furthermore, the head of European real estate investments Pascal Duhamel and acting head of real estate in Asia Anthony Bertoldi, also left the company.