The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has more than half of its assets invested in private equity and listed shares as it seeks higher returns, its chief executive Mansoor Al-Mahmoud disclosed during an International Institute of Finance event on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
According to the report, the QIA’s risk appetite is larger than some of its peers, as a long-term sovereign fund without short-term liabilities to meet.
The wealth fund, with assets estimated by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute at about $295 billion, has between 50 per cent and 55 per cent of asset allocation focused on private and public equity, Mahmoud explained.
“Our approach is always to be a long-term investor, this gives us an advantage. Companies are looking for investors with long-term horizons,” added Mahmoud.
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The Qatar fund remains one of the largest investors in real estate and partially owns the Canary Wharf Group, which in July unveiled plans for a vast mixed-use development, including business space, in London’s financial district.
Last July, the QIA took an undisclosed stake in the German clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company CureVac as part of a $126 million financing round, the latest high-profile investor to come on board ahead of a potential stock market listing.
Aside from medical investment, the QIA is investing the surplus revenues of the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.