GIC and Temasek revamp how they deal with hedge funds

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s two largest state-owned investors are making major changes to the way they work with hedge funds, in moves that could affect billions of dollars of allocations.

Sovereign wealth fund GIC is in the midst of a shake-up of its external managers department, replacing its veteran head and hiring additional staff, according to people familiar with the matter. Singapore’s investment company Temasek has been contacting a wider pool of hedge funds for potential investments, sources said.

The unconnected moves could have major implications for the money available to the world’s biggest hedge funds. GIC is a significant source of capital for the sector. Temasek has traditionally made relatively few investments directly with such outside managers, preferring to deploy money via subsidiaries such as Seviora Holdings and investees like Avanda Investment Management.

Ms Betty Tay, GIC’s head of the external managers department, plans to retire from the role and eventually be replaced by Mr Kwong Hong Huat, people familiar with the matter said. Mr Kwong, formerly head of the Asia total returns public equities team, became deputy director of the external managers department in January to prepare for the move.

“Organisational and leadership changes are part of GIC’s business planning process to ensure we remain well-positioned for the future,” a GIC spokesperson said in a statement confirming the moves.

Ms Tay has spent more than two decades at the firm, having previously worked at Bankers Trust (Singapore) and DBS Group Holdings.

GIC does not reveal how much it has under management, but consulting firm Global SWF estimates its assets were about US$936 billion (S$1.19 trillion) as at March 2025, of which around 1.5 per cent was placed with hedge funds.

GIC is hiring for at least four positions in its external managers department, from associate to vice-president levels, according to job postings on LinkedIn. It is unclear how the leadership change at GIC will affect its hedge fund allocation strategy.

Temasek, meanwhile, is likely to increase the amount of money it places externally with hedge funds. Executives from the firm, which had a net portfolio value of $434 billion as at March 2025, have been reaching out to global hedge funds, according to sources.

Temasek chief investment officer Rohit Sipahimalani said: “In addition to equities, we have been investing in alternative assets that diversify our exposure and provide a stable range of returns, strengthening the resilience of our portfolio.”

These assets include private credit and hybrid solutions, private equity funds and other alternative or uncorrelated strategies such as multi-strategy and macro hedge funds, he added.

Temasek said in 2025 that it was an investor in about 10 hedge funds, including Citadel, the firm founded by billionaire Kenneth Griffin. It is expected to generate double-digit returns from them.

The state investor is set to place its hedge fund allocations under a new Temasek Partnership Solutions unit from April as part of an overhaul. About 23 per cent of Temasek’s net total portfolio was managed by external partners and fund managers as at March 2025.

The shift comes amid a wide-ranging review of how Temasek invests and manages assets externally. That is likely to be completed in the coming months and could free up capital to invest elsewhere.

Over the years, the firm has created numerous spin-offs, subsidiaries and holding vehicles, several of which have overlapping mandates. These run the gamut from early-stage venture capital firm Vertex to private credit specialist SeaTown and investor Fullerton Fund Management. BLOOMBERG