Trade blocs. Tariffs. Parallel supply chains. The assumptions behind every long-term portfolio are being rewritten. Joining me is the Head of Portfolio Strategy at Mubadala. Welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me, Carl. It is a pleasure.
In a world that is fragmenting — what does that actually mean for how a sovereign investor builds a portfolio?
We think fragmentation is a structural shift — not a temporary thing. We are on the back of a very long globalisation period. But today, geopolitics, regulation, and trade are really coming to the forefront of the investment thesis. Gone are the days where you just looked at commercials and financials. Now you really have to look at the big picture. From a sovereign perspective, beyond understanding where you are exposed in sectors and geographies, there are two things most investors are looking at more carefully. One is understanding who to partner with — who can really bring value, and in some jurisdictions what local skill sets you can develop as you invest. The other is the themes that are emerging from fragmentation itself — logistical bottlenecks, everything around reshoring. These are themes we are backing as we invest.
What does portfolio resilience look like in practice?
Resilience means compounding high positive returns over the long term. With 70% of our portfolio illiquid, we diversify within illiquid asset classes and maintain good levels of liquidity — especially at this point in the cycle. We do a lot of stress testing. But I do not want to give the impression that resilience is only about being defensive — because you also need to be able to lean in at market dislocations. That is where your liquidity helps you. It is a combination of diversification and portfolio construction, but also knowing when to be opportunistic and playing high conviction bets. Mubadala has been deploying relatively steadily and at record levels.
How do you balance your long-term horizon against the need for liquidity?
Private assets have had relatively low DPI and not much liquidity coming out over the past couple of years. With a portfolio that is largely illiquid, the secret is a very carefully managed balance sheet. We have many sources of liquidity that our Treasury team manages in a very disciplined way — simply to be able to pounce on opportunities when they arise, both in liquid and private markets.
How does Mubadala think about digital assets and tokenisation?
Tokenisation is not necessarily exactly the same thing as crypto. There is infrastructure to it. There is a store of value element. We have looked at the asset class and we continue to look at it — it is very interesting. It is public knowledge that Mubadala has invested in cryptocurrencies. Like any asset class, there is a learning curve and we are doing significant analysis. But tied to resilience — one of the big things in resilience is not having very big drawdowns. Digital assets have been relatively volatile, so it is about how much you can take on at any point in time and how you construct a portfolio around that.
What should global allocators watch over the next six months from Abu Dhabi?
Between AI, inflation rates, and geopolitics, there is so much to watch. But taking a local view — what global allocators should be watching is the increasingly high number of asset managers coming to the region. Not just to raise capital — but to invest in the region. I have been here 15 years and it is nowhere like when I first came. The opportunity set has grown enormously, across asset classes including crypto, hedge funds, and pretty much anything you can think of.
Thank you for joining us today.
Thank you very much for having me.
