What’s up with GIC and Temasek’s performance?
Singapore’s sovereign wealth funds have been treated almost like background infrastructure for a very long time. Quietly compounding. Rarely questioned. But over the past few months, that has changed. After the Financial Times spotlighted GIC and Temasek’s decade-long returns against global peers, and MPs raised questions in Parliament about risk-adjusted performance and budget contributions, the conversation has sharpened.
In this episode of Mark To Market, a podcast by BT Correspondents, host Ben Paul takes a closer look at what the numbers actually say. GIC’s 20-year annualised return of 5.7 per cent. Temasek’s 10-year total shareholder return of 5 per cent and look at how they compare with global benchmarks.
Why listen
- Beyond the headlines Paul unpacks the actual portfolio structures, asset allocations and long-term mandates that shape GIC and Temasek’s returns.
- The US mega-cap effect How a decade dominated by American tech giants skewed global benchmarks and made cautious positioning look like underperformance.
- Transparency versus risk-taking Should the answer be more risk or simply more granular disclosure, so Singaporeans understand how their national savings are managed?
This is not a defence of performance. Nor is it a call to swing for higher returns at the top of a global market cycle.
If you care about how Singapore’s reserves are invested and what that means for the national Budget, this conversation matters. Listen now.
Mark to Market is a podcast of BT Correspondents. Look out for the next episode featuring wealth editor, Genevieve Cua. And if you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to reach out to us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and hosted by: Ben Paul (benpaul@sph.com.sg)
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Ben Paul, Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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