Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, announced it is bullish on infrastructure and alternative investments in 2014.

According to Reuters, in 2014, ADIA plans to expand its infrastructure team while improving its risk management capabilities. Reuters report that Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, managing director of ADIA, said:

"We have built out our investment teams in the illiquid space, such as real estate, infrastructure and, more recently, private equity, adding considerable expertise across geographies and asset specialisation."

Headquartered in the capital of the United Arab Emirates and with assets under management estimated at $773 billion, ADIA manages the surpluses of Abu Dhabi's earnings from oil exports.

ADIA announced that its 20-year annualised rate of return as of December 2013 was 7.2 %, down from 7.6 % a year earlier.

During the last months, ADIA has been very active in infrastructure deals in Australia.  Tawreed Investments Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is part of a consortium that has reached financial close recently on the acquisition of Queensland Motorways for US$6.673 billion.

In May 2013, NSW Ports, a consortium including Tawreed Investments Limited assumed management of Port Botany in Sydney and Port Kembla in Wollongong through 99 year lease agreement.

ADIA also sold its stake in Sydney Airport.

Other areas of investment for ADIA in 2013 were: the Australian retail and hospitality sector, the Chinese real estate sector, Brazil and Mexico.