2 Minutes Read (Reuters) – LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – For the second year in a row, Australia’s Future Fund has topped a survey of sovereign investors’ sustainability, governance, and ability to weather crises, while Middle Eastern funds fared the lowest. The next best achievers on the data platform Global SWF’s Governance, Resilience, and Sustainability Scoreboard were Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management, New Zealand Superfund, and Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ). Middle East funds, on the other hand, were the laggards and underperformers in areas like governance and resilience. In comparison to 2020, three of the major Middle East funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Kuwait Investment Authority, and Qatar Investment Authority, showed less openness. The impact of COVID-19, as well as reduced oil prices, prompted considerable withdrawals from funds in the region over the past year, according to the research. The poll evaluated 100 large state-owned investors on a variety of factors, including their goal and vision as well as their risk management policies. 36 of the 91 funds rated in both years increased their scores, 21 remained same, and 34 saw their performance deteriorate. Overall, it concluded that while funds improved their sustainability and governance, resilience, or their ability to endure crises, remained a concern. Funds in Colombia, Peru, and Mexico were recently depleted as capital was drained in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, while others in Angola, Kuwait, and Oman were restructured or combined, according to the report. However, according to the research, some funds have made progress in the past year. After a corruption scandal that resulted in a five-year prison sentence for its former head Jose Filomeno de dos Santos last year, the Libyan Investment Authority engaged with auditors and provided a portfolio valuation, while Angola’s fund resumed the production of annual reports. (Jan Harvey edited the piece.)/n
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