Kuwait’s $134bn pension fund has record gain in turnaround

Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security had its best ever annual performance, emerging as a new regional investment powerhouse despite political deadlock in the country.

The $134bn pension fund, which owns a quarter of US private equity firm Stone Point Capital, recorded 20.9 per cent growth in assets in the year ended March 31, according to a statement on Wednesday.

A new management team was brought into the fund in 2017 to transform the state-owned institution after its former head was found guilty of personally profiting from the organization over decades. Cash now accounts for 4 per cent of its investments, down from about 11.5 per cent a year ago.

The performance reflects the fund’s “robust” investment policy and the record performance of capital markets, said Director General Meshal Al-Othman. “The management follows a conservative investment strategy well positioned to absorb and overcome expected fluctuations in international markets in the medium-term,” he said.

PIFSS, as the fund is known, also owns 25 per cent of Oak Hill Advisors and 10 per cent of TowerBrook Capital Partners.