The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1976, ADIA manages the emirate’s excess oil reserves and is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, estimated to manage $968 billion.
ADIA’s operations have been characterized as secretive and opaque. The fund is a member of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds and has been influential in international finance. In 2008, ADIA co-chaired the International Working Group of 26 sovereign wealth funds that produced the “Generally Accepted Principles and Practices of sovereign wealth funds” (known as the Santiago Principles). These principles were created to demonstrate to home and recipient countries and the international financial markets that sovereign wealth funds had robust internal frameworks and governance practices and that their investments were made only on an economic and financial basis.
Today, ADIA invests in all the international markets, including equities, fixed income, treasury, infrastructure, real estate, private equity, and alternatives. The fund’s global portfolio is broken down into sub-funds covering specific asset classes, with both internal and external fund managers. While ADIA has faced some challenges, such as losses during the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal in the 1990s and decreased investments since the market peaks in 2007 and 2008, the fund continues to be a major player in global finance.
