The road to transparency is seldom traveled by Gulf financial institutions, but the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s (ADIA) publication last month of its first financial disclosure since its inception in 1976, entitled the ADIA Review, is perhaps the beginning of a new journey. ADIA is a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) which we estimate to manage some $400 billion is assets, though the fact that analysts like myself can still only provide ballpark estimates is telling of how far the Review goes, or does not go, in providing transparent and open disclosure. Despite its shortcomings, however, the publication is a strong indication of a nascent commitment among ADIA’s leadership to good governance, accountability and transparency arrangements, as codified by the so-called “Santiago Principles”, a code of conduct that 26 SWFs signed and pledged to implement in October 2008. ADIA is one of the biggest members of this increasingly powerful investor group,
