Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund to Focus on Tech, Climate Change

An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
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Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund to Focus on Tech, Climate Change

An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo
An Emirati man wears a protective mask as he walks past buildings in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Nir Elias/Pool/File Photo

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) sees technology and climate change as key investment areas for its post-COVID-19 strategy, it said in its 2020 annual review.

As of the end of last year ADIA achieved 20-year and 30-year annualized rates of return of 6% and 7.2% respectively, compared with 4.8% and 6.6% in 2019, it said in its report, published on Wednesday.

"As with any great shock to the status quo, the pandemic has also acted as a catalyst to accelerate a number of important themes in global financial markets," Managing Director Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan said in the report.

Major areas of focus for the fund include technology, healthcare, renewable energy, and real estate sub-sectors such as logistics and data centers, Reuters reported.

ADIA increased its exposure to renewable energy and through its infrastructure investments it now has an indirect interest in assets with a renewable capacity of more than 20 gigawatts.

On the equities side, its Indexed Fund Department introduced a climate change portfolio last year.

In 2020 ADIA combined previously separate external and internal equities departments, one tasked with overseeing the activities of external managers and the other with managing multiple internal portfolios.

It also created a team - for which it plans to hire more people - tasked with implementing investment strategies using a quantitative, scientific approach, it said.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.