FACTBOX-Facts about Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahayan

30 Mar 2010 14:36:48 GMT
Source: Reuters
March 30 (Reuters) - The body of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, 41, managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), among the world's biggest sovereign funds, has been found, a Moroccan government official said on Tuesday.

His aircraft crashed into a reservoir 10 km (6 miles) south of the Moroccan capital Rabat last Friday.

Here are some facts about Sheikh Ahmed:

* Sheikh Ahmed is the son of the founder of the seven-member UAE federation, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, and worked as a European equities analyst at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), for six years before becoming its boss.

* ADIA is among the world's top state-run investors, funnelling funds from the emirate's oil exports into stocks and bonds overseas from its headquarters in a skyscraper on the island city's shoreline.

* His sovereign wealth fund, formed in 1976, is believed to have assets of around $500 to $700 billion, ranging from Citigroup bonds to a stake in Britain's Gatwick airport to residential property in major cities.

* In a rare interview in January 2010, Sheikh Ahmed said the wealth fund was refining its investment approach and might consider a larger investment than its rarely exceeded 5 percent stakes. In the wake of the global financial crisis, Sheikh Ahmed said ADIA was reviewing its performance.

* ADIA has switched its weightings across asset classes to reduce the impact of economic downturns over the past 18 months, he said, adding its allocation to global equities had averaged 40-60 percent, with 60 percent of that indexed.

* Regionally, the wealth fund has its largest allocation in the United States, with 35 to 50 percent, followed by Europe at up to 35 percent and Asia at up to 20 percent.

* Sheikh Ahmed was No. 27 on Forbes list of the world's most powerful people in 2009. The magazine described him as "elusive".