Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala secured a top spot in Global SWF’s 2025 Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience (GSR) rankings — a global benchmark for best practices among state-owned investors — while other UAE funds made it to the top 10, according to its report (pdf). Mubadala also came in second globally in terms of capital deployed over the past 5.5 years — pouring in USD 9.6 bn — while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ranked 10th with USD 4.5 bn.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)

The breakdown: Mubadala led the cohort, taking third place globally alongside other SWFs, with a score of 92%. ADQ and the Dubai Investment Fund followed in eighth place with a score of 72%. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) landed in 12th place with a score of 56%, while Dubai Holding came in 14th at 48%. Further down the list, the Emirates Investment Authority came in 19th place with a score of 28%, and Sharjah Asset Management came in 20th place with a score of 24%.

UAE SOIs manage a collective USD 2.5 tn in assets as of 1H 2025, placing the country third globally. The UAE’s GSR score hit 49% this year, ranking 46th worldwide, with a 90% credit rating and a 68% score on the corruption perception index, according to the report.

More love for home turf this year? The SWFs are dialing up their domestic investments in 2025. ADQ deployed 45% of its capital locally this year, up from an average of 35% in 2020-2024. Mubadala also bumped up its local investments to 15%, from 9% over the last five years.

ICD Dubai placed third for 10-year annualized returns among global state-owned investors, with a return of 9.3%, followed by Mubadala in fifth place with 8.7%. DP World landed in 12th with 8%, while ADIA came in 27th with a 6.9% return.

In terms of AUM: ADIA is the fifth largest SWF in terms of assets under management, at USD 1.1 tn. ICD Dubai followed at 17th with USD 400 bn, and Mubadala came in at 21st with USD 330 bn. ADQ currently holds USD 251 bn in AUM, while the Emirates Investment Authority holds USD 102 bn, Dubai Investment Fund holds USD 80 bn, and Dubai Holding holds USD 72 bn. Sharjah Asset Management is the smallest of the bunch, with USD 3 bn in AUM.

Regionally, GCC sovereign wealth funds managed USD 5.9 tn in assets in 1H 2025 — accounting for 36% of global sovereign wealth fund (SWF) assets. They also deployed 36% of all sovereign investments during the same period, up from 32% in 2H 2024. Over the past five years, SOIs in the Middle East have steadily improved GSR scores, rising from 32% in 2020 to 48% in 2025.

REMEMBER- Gulf sovereign wealth funds were reportedly set to remain the focus of growth and activity in SWF investments globally despite looming competition, due to their sizable assets and higher risk appetite both geographically and strategically.

Tags: