Kuwait to Replace Head of Its $1 Trillion Sovereign Wealth Fund

The managing director of Kuwait’s $1 trillion wealth fund is departing after three years, capping a turbulent tenure at the global investor that’s been overshadowed by regional peers who’ve done flashier deals in recent years.

Ghanem Al-Ghenaiman was notified on Thursday his tenure was being cut short and he completed a smooth handover, people familiar with the matter said, declining to be identified discussing confidential information. 

Al-Ghenaiman, who is 65 and at retirement age according to the law, was appointed to the Kuwait Investment Authority in 2021 for a four-year term.

KIA board member Sheikh Saoud Salem Al-Sabah has assumed the role of MD, the people said. The executive is the son of a former central bank governor, Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah, who served for 25 years before resigning in protest over spending policies at the time.

A representative for the fund confirmed Al-Ghenaiman’s departure and said he had hit the retirement age, but declined to comment on his successor. The KIA is ultimately overseen by the Kuwaiti finance minister.

The re-jig is unlikely to result in significant strategy shifts at the KIA, which has largely focused on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, data centers and semiconductors this year. More than 50% of its investments are in the US, followed by the European Union and the UK, Asia and emerging markets.

The fund has been beset by challenges in recent years, coinciding with a period of political upheaval in Kuwait. 

Once a leading global investor, the KIA has of late fallen behind the likes of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. and ADIA, as well as other state-backed Middle Eastern funds. Still, performance has remained robust and a market rally last year drove double-digit returns at the KIA.

Wealth Fund Shakeup

The move comes at a time of significant change in the usually quiet world of Gulf wealth funds. Earlier this week, Qatar named a new chief executive officer for its $510 billion sovereign investor, while Bloomberg News on Wednesday detailed the strategy shifts underway at the $1 trillion ADIA.

The new leaders at both funds will need to navigate challenges including a Donald Trump presidency, the West’s evolving relationship with China and the growing competition between the Gulf states themselves as they diversify economically. 

The top six regional wealth funds oversee assets of about $4 trillion, and even small tweaks to their overall strategies can reverberate through the global financial ecosystem. 

The KIA is among the Middle East’s biggest wealth funds and the world’s fifth-largest, according to data from Global SWF. It plays a key role in helping diversify the country’s economy, and its portfolio includes stakes in ports, airports and power distribution systems around the world. 

Like some other funds, KIA doesn’t disclose the value of its assets and officials rarely comment on strategy, portfolio or distribution. Historically, it’s been a leading global investor, with holdings in BlackRock Inc. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. During the 2008 crisis, it bought a stake in Citigroup Inc and later sold it at a profit of over $1 billion. 

According to the most recent publicly-available data, the Future Generations Fund — a national savings pot managed by the KIA — reported returns of 33% for the year ended March 2021. That included a 38% return from the KIA’s London arm, the Kuwait Investment Office. 

As the world’s oldest wealth fund, KIA’s roots predate the birth of the modern state of Kuwait. It manages the FGF as well as the General Reserve Fund, or treasury, which is the government’s main source of budget financing.