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GIC is a private company wholly owned by the Government of Singapore. We were established in 1981 to invest and manage Singapore’s foreign reserves globally in a wide range of asset classes and instruments. We are a fund manager for the Government and do not own the assets we manage.
The Government, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), does not direct or influence GIC’s decisions on individual investments. It holds the GIC Board accountable for the overall performance of the portfolio. Although we are Government-owned and manage Singapore’s reserves, our relationship with the Government is that of a fund manager to a client. We operate, invest, and measure our performance in the same way as any global fund management company.
We manage most of the Government’s financial assets, other than its deposits in the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and stake in Temasek Holdings. GIC is a fund manager, not an owner of the assets. We receive funds from the Government for long-term management, without regard to the sources, with the aim of achieving good long-term real returns.
An explanation of the Government’s framework for managing its assets and liabilities is available on MOF’s website.
GIC, along with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), manages the proceeds from the Special Singapore Government Securities (SSGS) that are issued and guaranteed by the Government, which the CPF Board has invested in with the CPF monies. While the CPF monies are not directly transferred to GIC for management, one of the sources of funds for the Government’s assets managed by GIC is the proceeds from SSGS.
An explanation of how the reserves guarantee CPF interest rates is available on MOF’s website.
GIC manages Singapore’s foreign reserves and does not provide any investment services to the public. We will never contact any member of the public to open a trading account, make a private trade or make a fund transfer for any asset or financial instrument including but not limited to gold, crypto, property, equities, bonds, or commodities.
Learn more about fraud and scam awareness here.
The primary metric for evaluating GIC’s investment performance is the rolling 20-year real rate of return. This is in real terms because GIC must beat global inflation to preserve the international purchasing power of the reserves placed under its management.
In our GIC Report 2025/26, we announced that our annualised 20-year real rate of return for the year that ended on 31 March 2026 was 3.4%. Over the 20-, 10-, and 5-year periods, the GIC Portfolio returned 5.6%, 6.2%, and 3.6% in nominal US$ terms, respectively.
The 20-year real rate of return reflects the Government’s investment mandate, requiring GIC to invest for the long term, while the 5- and 10-year results provide intermediate indications of ongoing performance.
Read more in our Investment Report.
The Client has explained why it has instructed GIC to disclose nominal returns only in US$ terms. The use of US$ when showing nominal returns avoids confusion when comparisons are made with other fund managers or global market indices. That is, it avoids confusion that may arise if GIC’s returns in SG$ were to be compared with the returns of global market indices in US$. However, it is GIC’s real returns, not its nominal returns, that reflect its mandate and is its key performance metric.
The emphasis on real returns is important because the Government requires us to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of Singapore’s foreign reserves. Nominal returns enable performance comparisons with other institutional investors, but it is real returns which indicate whether we are meeting our remit from the Government.
We do not provide one-year returns as these are too short-term in relation to GIC’s 20-year investment horizon. As 20 years is a rather long period, we have published 5-year and 10-year nominal rates of returns in US$ terms to reflect the ongoing medium-term investment performance of the portfolio, but not the real rates of return.
We measure the performance of asset classes against public indices such as MSCI and Barclays, where available. For investments that are not traded publicly, we use fair value as our measure, ensuring measurements are market standard by means such as external appraisals and valuations.
As we have highlighted for several years, the global investment landscape has changed fundamentally. Geopolitics, technology, and climate change have caused foundational shifts and introduced profound uncertainty for investors.
Since 1 April 2026, we have started transitioning to a refreshed investment framework that is better adapted to the changing investment conditions. At the heart of the new framework is a Strategic Portfolio that represents our Client’s risk appetite and long-term return expectations. The refreshed framework will improve our ability to fulfil our long-standing mandate: to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves under our management.
At the heart of our investment framework is the Strategic Portfolio. From that, we build the GIC Portfolio that delivers on our mandate to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves under our management.
Strategic Portfolio: Represents the Client’s risk appetite and long-term return expectations. The portfolio comprises Equities, Fixed Income, and Real Assets, and aims to deliver good returns that beat global inflation over the long term.
GIC Portfolio: Leverages GIC’s long-term investment horizon, global network, and cross-asset class investment capabilities, and is designed to outperform the Strategic Portfolio over the long term.
Our 5- and 10-year returns are designed to be intermediate indicators of our ongoing performance, but it is the 20-year real return that shows whether we are meeting the objectives set by our Client, the Government of Singapore.
GIC’s investment approach focuses on generating good long-term returns by constructing a portfolio that is resilient to macroeconomic and market pressures, while also being aligned with the Client’s risk tolerance.
To protect the Client’s interests and avoid permanent impairment to the portfolio, GIC’s risk management objectives aim to:
Find out more about GIC’s multi-pronged approach to risk management here.
The Investment Strategies Committee advises the GIC Board on the design of the Strategic Portfolio in line with the Client’s risk appetite and long-term return expectations. This includes the selection of the asset groups and asset mix. Once the Strategic Portfolio is endorsed by the GIC Board and approved by the Client, GIC Management formulates and executes investment strategies, and seeks to add value through an overlay of active, skill-based strategies.
Find out more about how we invest here.
We focus on underlying risk/return attributes and long-term overall portfolio performance rather than the short-term performance of individual asset classes or investments. Our geographic mix reflects the results of our asset allocation strategy and bottom-up opportunities sourced by our investment teams worldwide. While we do not allocate our assets by geography, we do monitor our exposures across regions. We look at each investment and assess the return after adjusting for the risk.
Our use of external fund managers varies greatly from asset class to asset class. For public markets, external managers have at times been responsible for as much as 20% of the portfolio.
GIC engages external fund managers to access investment capabilities and opportunities in various sectors and geographies. External managers enable GIC to gain exposure across public and private markets. They also provide us with valuable investment insights.
Most of the external managers we use have been investing for us for many years, in partnerships that have not only generated above average investment returns but also given us insights into high-quality investment ideas and research, as well as industry best practices in both investments and operations.
Sustainability is integral to GIC’s mandate to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves under our management. We are committed to enabling real-world decarbonisation and the global transition towards a net-zero economy through our investments and operations. By focusing on real-world outcomes rather than portfolio metrics, we believe our efforts can make a greater contribution to lasting positive change.
The Government has explained that revealing the assets under management of GIC will, taken together with the published assets of MAS and Temasek, amount to publishing the full size of Singapore’s financial reserves. In addition, it is not in the national interest to publish the full size of the reserves for it will make it easier for markets to mount speculative attacks on the Singapore dollar during periods of vulnerability.
We disclose information on our returns over 5-, 10- and 20-year time periods, risk levels, and asset and geographical distributions each year in the GIC Report.
We do not report on investment specifics, to safeguard our competitive edge. We are in any case assessed not on individual investments but on the performance of the overall portfolio.
We file all disclosures required by laws and regulations.
The Government holds the GIC Board accountable for the overall performance of the portfolio. It does not direct or influence GIC’s decisions on individual investments.
The GIC Board is responsible for GIC’s overall performance and adherence to the risk and return objectives set by the Government. The GIC Management is responsible for formulating and executing investment strategies and making individual investment decisions. It also reports to the Government on the risk and performance of the GIC Portfolio.
GIC is a private limited company wholly owned by the Government of Singapore. The Ministry of Finance, representing the Government, ensures that a competent Board of Directors is in place to oversee GIC’s management of the reserves.
As a Fifth Schedule company under the Singapore Constitution, GIC is directly accountable to the President of Singapore in several key areas. For example, no one may be appointed to or removed from the GIC Board without the President’s concurrence.
Cabinet Ministers and GIC executives on the GIC Board are not paid fees. We pay fees to directors from the private sector. The payment of director fees is as per industry practice and the amounts are reviewed regularly and take the market context into consideration.
The main companies in the GIC Group and the Government’s portfolio are audited by the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General is appointed by the President, and his/her position is safeguarded under the Constitution and the Audit Act, to enable work without fear or favour.
The Government regularly monitors and reviews the overall long-term performance of and risk profile for the nation’s reserves, managed by GIC, MAS (the central bank), and Temasek Holdings, at various points in a market cycle. Each of the three agencies plays a distinct role and consequently, has its place in the risk spectrum as part of the larger strategy for diversification.
MAS and Temasek are at the opposite ends of the risk spectrum – MAS is the most conservative of the three investment entities, with a significant proportion of its portfolio invested in liquid financial market instruments; while Temasek aims to maximise shareholder value over the long term.
GIC is a fairly conservative investor, with a globally diversified portfolio spread across various asset classes. Most of our investments are in the public markets, with a smaller component in alternative investments such as private equity and real estate. Temasek is exposed to significantly higher risk than GIC and MAS but has also delivered higher returns over time as expected. In contrast, MAS will have more stable but lower returns over time.
Find out more about Singapore’s reserves management framework.
The Ministry of Finance has stated that the investment returns on Singapore’s reserves supplement the annual Budget through the Net Investment Returns Contribution (NIRC). The NIRC is estimated to be S$28.5 billion in Financial Year (FY) 2026. This supports Government investments in transforming Singapore into a vibrant and innovative economy, fostering a caring and cohesive society, and ensuring a fiscally sustainable and secure future.
Find out more about Singapore’s reserves management framework.
The GIC Learning Journey is an in-person engagement that sheds light on our history as the first non-commodity-based country to have a sovereign wealth fund, our contributions to Singapore, and our investment principles and process. It is a walkabout tour held at GIC’s office at Capital Tower lasting approximately 2.5 hours and is best appreciated by participants aged 16 years and above.
GIC is a place where you can excel, both as a mid-career professional or someone starting out in your career. In fact, our GIC Internship Programme, GIC Scholarship Programme and GIC Professionals Programme will impart comprehensive learning, hands-on experience and mentoring to groom you for your preferred role.
If you’re armed with drive, passion, commitment and seek growth, explore your opportunities at gic.careers.
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