Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) reached a historic milestone in 2024, managing $13 trillion in assets, of which the GCC region managed 38%. A recent report by Global SWF also revealed that Southeast Asia holds 10% of total assets while China manages 20% of total Sovereign Wealth Fund assets. Another country that dominated the landscape in 2024 was Norway, with 14% of total assets, including the world’s largest SWF.
The balance sheets of State-Owned Investors (SOIs) reached a historic high in 2024, approaching $55 trillion. Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) hit the significant milestone of $13 trillion, Public Pension Funds (PPFs) expanded their assets to $25 trillion and Central Banks (CBs) grew their foreign reserves by 6% to $16.9 trillion.
Projections suggest that SOIs could collectively reach $60 trillion in 2025 and $75 trillion by 2030, as GCC nations progress toward their ambitious economic visions.
Mubadala emerges as lead investor in 2024
State-owned investors increased their investment activity in 2024, despite the number of deals remaining relatively unchanged from 2023. The average transaction size rose to $0.37 billion, reflecting strong demand for large infrastructure and credit deals.
Compared to 2023, investments by SWFs grew by 7% to $136.1 billion across 358 transactions, while PPFs increased their investments by 2% to $80.5 billion across 227 deals.
The Abu Dhabi-based SWF, Mubadala, emerged as the lead investor in 2024, deploying $29.2 billion across 52 deals, a 67% increase from the previous year, according to Global SWF. Mubadala continued to expand across regions and industries, supported by subsidiaries such as ADIC, Mubadala Capital and MGX.
Top 10 global dealmakers
Alongside Mubadala, four other GCC SWFs ranked among the top 10 global dealmakers: Abu Dhabi peers ADIA and ADQ, Saudi Arabia’s PIF, and Qatar’s QIA, collectively referred to as the “Oil Five.” The remaining slots in the top 10 were filled by Singapore’s GIC and Temasek, which were significantly more active than in 2023, two Canadian “Maple Eight” funds (CPP and CDPQ), and APG from the Netherlands.
Collectively, the Oil Five invested a record $82 billion in 2024, while Canadian, Singaporean, and Australian funds increased their investments but remained below their peaks in 2021–2022.
