RIYADH: Canada-based Alberta Investment Management Corp. is exploring the possibility of building ties with sovereign funds in the region to diversify its portfolio. Speaking at a session titled “Growth Opportunities in Today’s Economy” at the Investopia 2023 Annual Conference held in Abu Dhabi last week, AIMCo CEO Evan Siddall said his company had been historically too focused on domestic investments and was now looking at newer avenues of growth. “AIMCO is looking into diversifying from a geographical perspective, exploring new markets such as Asia, and potentially opening an office in Abu Dhabi,” said Siddall during the event. With 168.3 billion Canadian dollars ($124 billion) worth of assets under management, AIMCo invests in pension, endowment and government funds in Alberta. According to the recent data released by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority controls assets worth $790 billion and is the third largest fund in the world. Kuwait Investment Authority ranks fourth with $750 billion, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is sixth at $607.42 billion. According to the institute, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. and ADQ possess $285 billion and $159 billion in assets, respectively. In an interview with Bloomberg, Siddall said that while investing in the UAE is attractive due to the country’s dollar-pegged currency and investor-friendly regulations, the company’s focus is not limited to the Gulf area. “Our scope is global in these conversations,” he told Bloomberg, adding that AIMCo’s new investment strategy “is to rely on our expertise where we have it and on the expertise of partners where we don’t.” The company is also open to investing more in emerging markets like India, the Middle East and China. In addition, the fund is opening an office in Singapore as it increases its allocation to Asia-based investments. “We are right now far too exposed to Canada, the US and Western Europe, which are going to be lower growth economies and therefore lower returns,” he told Bloomberg. “For someone like us over the long term, who can diversify the risk associated with that, it makes sense to be in emerging markets.”