#Kuwait’s $124 Billion Pension Fund Had Record First-Half Profit - Bloomberg

Kuwait’s $124 Billion Pension Fund Had Record First-Half Profit - Bloomberg

Kuwait’s $124 billion pension fund racked up a record profit in the first half, continuing a turnaround for an institution previously marred by a corruption scandal.

The Public Institution for Social Security, which owns a quarter of U.S. private equity firm Stone Point Capital LLC, said profit rose 362% to $12.1 billion in the first half. It surged 611% to $4.7 billion in the second quarter, reflecting the “governance and strength” of its new investment strategy, 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. The fund has since exited more than $20 billion in questionable deals in a major reorganization of its portfolio.

PIFSS, as the fund is known, said in August it aims to have 12% to 17% of its portfolio in real estate, followed by private equity at between 8% and 13% and infrastructure at 3% to 10%.

Between 40% and 60% of its portfolio is in stocks and fixed income. PIFSS also owns 25% of Oak Hill Advisors and 10% of TowerBrook Capital Partners LP.