Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed appointed ADIA boss
Posted on 15 April 2010 with no comments from readers
Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chief of the court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi has been named new managing director the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority after the recent tragic death of his elder brother in a glider accident in Morocco.
ADIA is reckoned to be the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with $500-800 billion in assets under management, although the actual figures are not disclosed.
New board
There was also a presidential decree creating a new board of directors with a three-year mandate. The board will be chaired by the UAE President and aside from the new managing director its membership comprises a broad cross-section of the ruling elite.
Also included are: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President’s representative, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, minister of presidential affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, chairman of the finance department and Mohammed Habroosh Al Suwaidi, Joan Salem Al Dhahiri, Hamad Mohammed Al Hurr Al Suwaidi and Khalil Mohammed Sheriff Foulazi, chairman of the Central Bank.
Sheikh Hamed is also the chairman of the General Holding Corporation that owns stakes in many UAE companies, including the Emirates Iron and Steel Factory, National Petroleum Construction Company and Arkan, a building materials producer.
Strategy changes
ADIA watchers will now be on the look out for any change in strategy at one of the world’s most powerful investment organizations. Recently the first-ever report from ADIA disclosed returns of an average of 6.5 per cent over the past 20 years. The fund keeps its stakes in public companies relatively small and is massively diversified.
But the ADIA report does give an indication of its geographic spread: North America and Europe 60-85 per cent; Asia and emerging markets 25-45 per cent. By asset class 46-66 per cent is held in equities, 10-20 per cent in government bonds, five to 10 per cent in hedge funds and up to 10 per cent in cash.
ADIA was formed in 1976 to invest the surplus oil revenues of Abu Dhabi and has achieved an eight per cent annual return over the past 30 years, according to the new report. Some 1,200 staff work for the fund of whom a third are UAE nationals.
