REUTERS: Qatar revamps investment strategy after Kushner building bailout

Qatar has decided that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will aim to avoid putting money in funds or other investment vehicles it does not have full control over, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with QIA’s strategy.

“Qatar started looking into how its name got involved into the deal and found out it was because of a fund it co-owned,” said one of the sources. “So QIA ultimately triggered a strategy revamp.”

Last year, Brookfield Asset Management and the Qatari government struck a deal that rescued the Kushner Companies’ 666 Fifth Avenue tower in Manhattan from financial straits. Financial terms were not disclosed. QIA owned a 9 percent stake in the asset, prior to Brookfield’s purchase. The Qatari wealth fund was not involved in the 666 Fifth Avenue deal, a source close to Brookfield Asset Management told Reuters.

Reuters reported the shift will have significant implications for the global investment scene because QIA is one of the world’s largest state investors, with more than $320 billion under management.

QIA’s strategic revamp also follows management shifts. Last November, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani was replaced by its former head of risk management, Mansour Ibrahim al-Mahmoud. Also Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was named QIA chairman.