Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) made $25 billion from investment activities in 2023 after an $11 billion loss in 2022. It was also the top spender in 2023, deploying $31.6 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has had a good week in terms of performance and governance metrics.
Matthew Martin with Bloomberg reports that,
“The Public Investment Fund made $25 billion from investment activities last year, compared to a loss of $11 billion in 2022, according to financial statements published late Monday. Dividend income and better performance from third-party funds also helped boost performance… The PIF’s rebound follows a turnaround in financial markets, with the S&P 500 Index returning 24% in 2023. The fund cashed in on a rally in tech stocks and slashed its holdings of US equities including stakes of more than $600 million each in Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Salesforce Inc. during the first quarter of this year.”
In 2023, PIF was also the most active investor abroad, leading all sovereign wealth funds by deploying $31.6 billion. PIF has continued this strong pace in 2024 remaining the highest-spending state-owned investor in the first half of 2024, according to Matt Smith in Arabian Gulf Business Insight. “In terms of investments in the first six months of 2024, Abu Dhabi’s ADQ-Lunate Capital was third with $9.2 billion, followed by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($8.7 billion) and Mubadala ($8.2 billion). State pension fund Canada Pension Plan invested $9.9 billion in the first half of 2024, placing it second behind the PIF.”
Finally, the Global SWF published its 2024 GSR Scoreboard, “the most comprehensive analysis on the Governance, Sustainability and Resilience (“GSR”) practices and efforts of the world’s major State-Owned Investors (“SOIs”), including Sovereign Wealth Funds (“SWFs”) and Public Pension Funds (“PPFs).”
PIF climbed five places and scored 96%, up from 92%, with Global SWF’s report indicating that the Fund has retained its financial sustainability progress. Overall, PIF tied for 2nd globally and was the top Middle East fund for governance, sustainability and resilience.
