Saudi Wealth Fund’s year of losses

The Saudi Arabian Wealth Fund, which closed 2021 with a profit of $19 billion, closed 2022 with a loss of $11 billion. The Saudi Arabian Wealth Fund lost about $11 billion from its investment activities last year. During the same period, the fund’s total assets increased from $676 billion to about $778 billion. The fund said it returned 25 percent in 2021 as global markets rallied, roughly in line with the return for investors in the S&P 500 Index that year. The fund did not disclose a comparable figure in its 2022 accounts, a year in which the S&P fell almost 20 percent. The index is up about 15 percent so far this year. The fund had pursued a global investment strategy after transforming from a domestically focused holding company to a sovereign fund in 2016. The fund has attracted global attention in recent months with a deal to merge its fledgling LIV golf tournament with the PGA, part of the kingdom’s efforts to boost its soft power and improve its international image by investing in global sports. The fund has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, the Sports Investment Company, to invest in sports internationally and domestically through 2022. This year, the Saudi government transferred another 4% stake in energy giant Aramco, worth about $80 billion, to the fund.