Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:THE UAE has become the world’s fourth-largest state investor, managing approximately $2.93 trillion (Dh10.75 trillion) in assets through entities like SWFs, public pension funds, and central banks, according to Global SWF’s 2026 Annual Report.
This positions the UAE behind the United States, China, and Japan. The UAE’s largest state-owned institutions with largest assets under management are Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with $1.18 trillion, Investment Corporation of Dubai ($429 billion), Mubadala ($358 billion), ADQ ($251 billion), Emirates Investment Authority ($116 billion), Dubai Investment Fund ($80 billion) and Dubai Holding ($72 billion). In October 2024, Abu Dhabi was named the richest city in the world by the Global SWF’s First City Ranking, overtaking Oslo.
Abu Dhabi had $1.7 trillion in assets managed by its various SWFs headquartered in the city; therefore, the city was named ‘Capital of the Capital’. Importantly, the UAE was also the fifth-largest recipient of sovereign funds in 2025, receiving $9.9 billion, up from $7.9 billion in 2024. The US was the top recipient ($131.8 billion), followed by the UK ($25.8 billion), Germany ($18.8 billion), and Canada ($17.7 billion).
In October 2024, Abu Dhabi was named the richest city in the world by the Global SWF’s First City Ranking, overtaking Oslo
Globally, the SOIs continued to gain scale in 2025 as they benefited from the rally in financial markets and pursued mega-deals across any possible form and sector, seeking partnerships and new strategies to invest and operate.
“Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) reached a historic high in December 2025, passing $15 trillion for the first time ever. Together with public pension funds (PPFs) and central banks (CBs), which also significantly expanded their balance sheets during the year, they now manage $60 trillion in assets and reserves. Our projections suggest that this figure could be close to $80 trillion by the end of the decade in 2030,” it said in the annual report.
Out of $60 trillion in assets owned by SOIs, over a third sits in Asia, 26 per cent in North America, 19 per cent in Europe, and 15 per cent in the Mena region. “We are expecting the SWF segment to grow faster than PPFs and CBs in the next few years, and therefore, it is possible that Asia and Mena will increase their relative weight, while North America and Europe may stall. Oceania, Latam, and Africa will likely stay small,” it added..
