SOI Investments Decline in H1-25, Drop to 2020 Levels

Investments by state-owned investors (SOIs) fell to 2020 levels in the first six months of this year as the sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) across the world deployed $58.8 billion in 133 deals, while Public Pension Funds (PPFs) spent $42 billion in 92 deals.

According to data from Global SWF, an industry specialist focused on SWFs and PPFs, investments were fewer, but larger on average, and the average ticket of US450 million per asset relates to rising interest in large infrastructure and private capital deals.

Global SWF also said that 41 mega deals were reported in H1 2025, i.e., deals of over $1 billion in value invested or divested by sovereign investors. Some of the largest transactions included CDPQ’s $7 billion takeover of renewable energy leader Innergex, Kuwait Investment Authority’s (KIA) and Temasek‘s multi-billion commitment to AI Infrastructure Partnership, Dubai Holding’s $3.6 billion investment in British school chain Nord Anglia, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s (ADIA) and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPP Investments), $3.4 billion co-investment in Sweden’s IFS, and Mubadala’s multi-billion, two-way deal with TWG Global.

The universe of sovereign investors can be split in four, in order to understand the origin of the capital deployed. Middle Eastern SWFs (mostly, GCC) represented 36% of the investments, up from 32% in the second half of 2024. CPP (mostly, Maple 8) represented 31% of all deal-making, one of the highest percentages in the past five years.

Lastly, Southeast Asian SWFs, mostly, GIC and Temasek, decreased in presence from 21% in the second half of 2024, to 13% in the first six months of 2025.

Change in Rankings

The ranking of most active funds changed in the first half of 2025, as Canadian pension funds showed a large degree of activity: CDPQ, CPP and PSP placed three out of the Top four funds.

Singapore’s Temasek and GIC also ranked high with $6.5 billion and $4.9 billion respectively, while Norway’s NBIM was more active in real estate and renewable energy. Among the Gulf funds, Mubadala is still the most active, with circa $10 billion deployed, while Kuwait’s KIA returns to the Top 10 spenders for the first time in several years.

Looking at Gulf SWFs, four of the “Oil Five” (all but ADIA) invested both at home and overseas. In the first six months of 2025, ADQ, Mubadala, Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) turned more domestic than previously, according to Global SWF data.

New SWFs

In the first six months of 2025, five new sovereign wealth funds were established and they were Uzbekistan’s NIF, Taiwan’s SWF, Mongolia’s Chinggis Fund (merging FSF and FHF), Eswatini’s ESWF, and Indonesia’s Danantara.

This compares to eight SWFs formed in both 2023 and 2024. On the other hand, five SWFs were dismantled in the last two and half years, including Armenia’s ANIF, Djibouti’s FSD, and Mauritius’ MIC.

2025 GSR Scoreboard

Global SWF also released the 2025 GSR Scoreboard, the most comprehensive analysis on the Governance, Sustainability and Resilience (GSR) practices and efforts of the world’s 200 largest SOIs, including SWFs and PPFs.

Five SOIs repeated the success of last year and scored 100% once again and they were Canadian pension managers BCI and CDPQ, Ireland’s strategic fund ISIF, Singapore’s Temasek, and New Zealand’s savings fund NZ Super, which again secured the best financial performance of the past decade among SWFs.

Four additional funds scored maximum points this year thanks to the continuous improvement of their practices. Saudi Arabia’s PIF started issuing annual ESG updates, and Nigeria’s NSIA committed to net zero goals, so both SWFs met all sustainability points.

Australia’s REST and Canada’s OTPP shed a light on their operational structure, which ensured they met all governance elements. The latter is a good example of how the Maple 8 continue to evolve and adapt to the new normal.