The Public Investment Fund (PIF) led global sovereign investment in 2025 with USD 36.2 bn, with 80% of that figure going towards its acquisition of EA Sports, according to Global SWF’s 2026 Annual Report. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala came in second with a record USD 32.7 bn across 40 transactions in 10 countries.

Who were the other top regional spenders? The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) ranked as the seventh top sovereign spender with USD 12.9 bn spent throughout the year, while ADQ came in 10th with USD 10.9 bn. On the regional front, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) ranked sixth (USD 16.6 bn), and Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) came in 13th (USD 6.5 bn).

Saudi solidified its position as a top sovereign wealth player in 2025, with state-owned investors managing around USD 2.2 tn in assets, ranking sixth globally. PIF’s assets amounted to USD 1.2 tn, and the National Development Fund’s reached USD 115 bn. Across the region, SWFs collectively oversee USD 6 tn, with the UAE maintaining its regional dominance as the wealthiest hub, managing USD 2.9 tn (fourth globally), followed by Kuwait at USD 1.2 tn (14th globally).

PIF leads on private equity, while AI + private credit trail

The Saudi fund was the largest contributor to private equity in 2025, deploying USD 33.1 bn throughout the year. PIF invested some USD 8.3 bn in digitalization, with only USD 0.3 bn of that amount going towards pure AI investments.

How this compares to regional peers: Mubadala deployed USD 23.0 into the asset class, while Adia and ADQ each committed at least USD 5 bn throughout the year to private equity transactions.

UAE funds took the lead in private credit: The PIF allocated 1% of its portfolio to private credit (USD 11.5 bn), followed by the General Organization for Social Ins. with USD 3.7 bn (1% allocation). UAE sovereigns dominated the region in this category, with Adia ranking second globally at 2% of its portfolio (USD 23.7 bn) and Mubadala seventh at 5.6% (USD 20 bn).

Our take: GCC SWFs are stepping into private credit as banks and Western lenders pull back to reduce risk, manage balance sheets, and cope with higher funding costs. This allows them to fill financing gaps and secure higher yields, especially as competition thins. In private equity, the same retreat has created windows for GCC sovereigns to deploy large-scale capital at more attractive valuations, allowing them to back buyouts and growth investments.

Zooming out

Global SWFs invested USD 180.3 bn across 324 transactions in 2025, marking a 35% y-o-y increase. The Gulf's biggest SWFs (PIF, Mubadala, Adia, ADQ, ICD, KIA, and QIA) accounted for 43% of the total — up 43% y-o-y.

What’s next?

USD 22.4 tn by 2030: Global SWF assets are projected to reach USD 22.4 tn by 2030, up from USD 15.2 tn today, driven by market performance, oil prices, and the emergence of new funds. Regional heavyweights are set to claim a larger share of this total, led by PIF, whose assets are set to hit USD 2 tn by the end of the decade. Adia is forecast to reach USD 1.67 tn, followed by ICD at USD 602 bn, and Mubadala at USD 500 bn.

As AI demand reshapes energy markets and rising debt burdens squeeze traditional returns, SWFs will increasingly rely on “policy due diligence” and political buy-in to secure transactions, which will show up in new cross-border collaborations, Ziemba Insights founder Rachel Ziemba told the data platform. This is especially the case as they navigate a fragmented global trade landscape and parallel US-China tech supply chains in 2026.

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