In the first half of the year, Thailand's sovereign fund shifted to betting on the rebound of gold, commodities, and global stock markets

After experiencing lackluster performance in the first half of the year, the Government Pension Fund of Thailand (GPF), which manages $45 billion in assets, is turning its attention to gold, commodities, and global stock markets in hopes of driving a recovery in returns and achieving its annual performance targets. On Wednesday, GPF Secretary-General Songpol Chevapanyaroj stated in a media interview that despite a return of only 1.19% from January to June this year, the fund still aims to achieve an annualized return of over 3% by 2025. To achieve this goal, GPF is actively adjusting its investment portfolio. The fund has increased its holdings in gold and commodities, betting that rising U.S. trade tariffs and escalating geopolitical tensions will boost demand for safe-haven assets. According to data from its official website, its gold holdings more than doubled in the six months ending June 30, reaching 0.43% of total assets. Data traceable to 2020 shows that the fund only began investing in gold in 2022. In light of low returns on local stocks and bonds, the institution has also expanded its overseas investments in bonds, stocks, and real estate to enhance performance. Songpol believes that the global market environment is evolving in favor of risk assets. He stated: As U.S. trade policies become clearer, market uncertainty is expected to decrease, bringing more stability to the investment environment. The downward trend in global interest rates is expected to boost investors' willingness to allocate to risk assets, creating favorable conditions for equity assets such as stocks. The Government Pension Fund of Thailand manages assets worth 1.47 trillion baht ($45 billion) and is responsible for managing retirement savings for over one million government employees. The fund still holds about 57% of its assets in international and domestic fixed-income assets, unchanged from the end of 2024. Songpol stated: Due to market volatility caused by U.S. tariffs, the fund will reduce its investment in local and overseas stocks from 22.6% in 2024 to 19% of its total investment portfolio. The fund's return rate for 2024 is projected to be 3.5%, more than double last year's 1.46% yield. Due to increased market volatility following the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund's return rate in 2022 was -1.5%, marking the first investment loss since 2008