A Massive Restart at PIFSS

Sulaiman Alderbas, the Head of Alternative Investments at Kuwait’s $130 billion Public Institution of Social Security, or PIFSS. Sulaiman arrived at PIFSS from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Development in 2016. Alongside Meshal Al-Othman, who joined to lead PIFSS from the Kuwait Fund, Sulaiman took part in a massive restructuring of the organization and portfolio.

Our conversation covers Sulaiman’s early experience as an allocator, lessons from investing in thirty hedge fund of funds at the Kuwait Fund, and transition to PIFSS. We discuss the restructuring that took place over the last four years that canvassed the people, process, and portfolio. Along the way, we touch on competitive advantages of size, knowledge transfer from managers, strategic stakes, and allocator innovation.