This article is an edited extract from our May 2026 member newsletter, IFSWF Direct, published here for a wider audience. To receive future editions directly, subscribe here.
Member spotlight: Future Fund and OIA post strong results, while Cofides and QIA launch a joint investment vehicle
Australia’s Future Fund has reported an 11.7% annual return as of 31 March 2026, comfortably above its 8.1% target and adding A$28.3 billion to its value. Total assets under management now stand at a record A$269 billion ($189 billion), with a ten-year annualised return of 8.6%.
The fund has also appointed Richard Brandweiner as its new Chief Investment Officer, effective 1 July. These results demonstrate the benefits of long-term, consistent investing. More details are available on the Future Fund website.
Good news from Oman too, as OIA, which hosted the IFSWF annual meeting in 2024, reported its 2025 results, recording profits of OR2.9 billion ($7.5 billion) and an annual investment return of 14.6%. The sovereign wealth fund said the performance reflected the strength of its investment strategy, portfolio diversification and asset management capabilities, as total assets climbed to approximately OR23bn ($59.7bn). The government of Oman publishes a range of measures and statistics, including OIA data, on a National Open Data Portal, a good example of transparency and openness.
Two of our members have announced new co-investment initiatives: Spain’s Cofides and the Qatar Investment Authority have introduced a €300 million joint investment fund to promote Spain's energy transition and digital transformation. The Spain Growth Fund will focus on directing investments into Spanish SMEs within future-oriented industries, supporting their growth and fostering the development of the next generation of national champions.
This initiative deepens the alliance between QIA and COFIDES and underscores a mutual commitment to supporting economic growth, innovation, and job creation across Spain, as well as to developing sustainable, future-looking industries.
Canada: a new sovereign wealth fund takes shape
At the end of April, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund, the country’s first national sovereign wealth fund. The government will provide an initial investment of C$25 billion ($18 billion) and establish a new Crown corporation to manage the fund independently. The vehicle will co-invest with private partners in large-scale projects, including infrastructure, energy, minerals, and agriculture.
Canada’s approach is distinctive in its focus on domestic projects and opportunities for public participation. Unlike classic rainy-day savings and pension funds, which invest globally, the Canada Strong Fund will support initiatives that contribute to national development. The government also intends to allow Canadians to invest in the fund, enabling broad participation by its citizens.
The initiative is in its early stages. The rules, objectives, and retail offering are still under development, and some have noted that the initial funding will be borrowed rather than saved. Nevertheless, the ambition is significant. Leveraging a sovereign fund to stimulate the economy and enable citizen participation is a novel approach globally. We will continue to monitor its progress.
Uzbekistan: a layered sovereign investment architecture
This month, we take a closer look at Uzbekistan in response to several commentators' questions about whether the recently listed National Investment Fund of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) could be considered a sovereign wealth fund.
The short answer is not entirely, but the broader context is more compelling.
UzNIF completed a dual listing on the London and Tashkent stock exchanges on 13 May, raising $604 million at a valuation of approximately $1.95 billion, London’s first major IPO of 2026. The fund holds minority stakes of 25–40% in 13 major Uzbek state-owned enterprises spanning airlines, banking, electricity, gas and water supply. U.S. asset manager Franklin Templeton serves as trustee, with BlackRock, Franklin Resources, Redwheel, and the Allan & Gill Grey Foundation acting as cornerstone investors.
UzNIF shares some features with a sovereign wealth fund: for example, it is wholly owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and established by presidential decree, holds strategically significant national assets, and has adopted OECD corporate governance standards. But the differences are equally important. There is no sovereign wealth source, no commodity revenues, fiscal surpluses or foreign exchange reserves. The portfolio was transferred from the state, not accumulated through investment. And the fund’s primary mandate is governance reform and preparation for privatisation, not wealth preservation or intergenerational savings.
Uzbekistan’s approach is notable because UzNIF represents only one component of a broader investment framework.
The Fund for Reconstruction and Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UFRD), established in 2006, is arguably the institution in Uzbekistan that most closely resembles a sovereign wealth fund. It is a state financial institution under the Cabinet of Ministers, with a mandate to finance modernisation and development across priority sectors such as energy, chemicals, metals, transport and telecommunications infrastructure. Some of our readers will recall that a UFRD representative attended the IFSWF Annual Meeting in Abu Dhabi last year as a guest.
UFRD has also built a network of bilateral investment vehicles with sovereign partners that will be familiar to our members. The Uzbek-Oman Investment Company (UzOman), established in 2009 as a joint venture between UFRD (25%) and the Oman Investment Authority (75%), now manages over $300 million in assets across retail, logistics, fintech, hospitality and education in Uzbekistan. UFRD has similar joint ventures with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (est. 2019, authorised capital of $147 million) and Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy (est. 2023, authorised capital of $50 million), as well as with the Uzbek-Kyrgyz Development Fund and a domestic Direct Investment Fund.
Uzbekistan engages with sovereign capital through three channels. UFRD serves as the development bank, providing loans, collaborating with global partners, and fostering relationships with other sovereign investors. Joint ventures such as UzOman attract foreign sovereign wealth to invest domestically. UzNIF, the newest entity, consolidates significant stakes in state-owned companies, aligns with international standards, and facilitates access for global investors. While none of these components fully align with the traditional definition of a sovereign wealth fund, collectively they illustrate Uzbekistan’s innovative approach to sovereign investment.
What We're Reading
Nate Horner, Alberta’s Finance Minister, has outlined a plan to grow the Heritage Savings Trust Fund from 30 billion to 250 billion Canadian dollars by 2050. The strategy includes new regulations, a new management company, and a commitment to allocate resource revenues for future savings.
The second article in our How We Work series is now available. In Measuring What Sovereign Wealth Funds Won’t Say Out Loud, Enrico Soddu describes how we transformed six years of climate survey data into the Net Score method featured in this year’s report. The article details the process, from data exports and analysis to Jonas Jølle's pivotal suggestion to apply a technique from customer research.
IFSWF Direct is our members-only newsletter, published monthly. This extract has been lightly edited for a public audience and was published after the original distribution date. Want the full edition in your inbox? Subscribe here.