Abu Dhabi fund to break silence

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund with assets of $875 billion, has hired US PR outfit Burson Marsteller to manage its communications, it was reported Saturday.

According to UK daily the Financial Times (FT), Burson Marsteller will help Adia identify and communicate with stakeholders, with the involvement of US public affairs chairman James Lake.

The fund, which recently invested $7.5 billion in Citigroup, has until now declined to comment on deals or engage with the public, the FT said.

The appointment comes amid international concerns that rapidly growing sovereign wealth funds, which currently control more than $2 trillion in assets, will allow foreign governments to gain control over key industries.

Merrill Lynch predicts the value of assets controlled by the funds will quadruple to $8 trillion by 2011, and that they could soon exceed the entire hedge fund industry in terms of market influence.

A spokesman for Burson Marsteller told the FT: "It has traditionally been our policy not to discuss our clients. We will adhere to that policy in this instance."

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