During the first quarter of 2026, global financial markets created a challenging environment for many asset classes against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and ongoing uncertainty.
“Elchi” reports that this was stated by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ).
It was noted that the rising geopolitical tension and uncertainty in global financial markets have affected the investment portfolio.
The Fund stated that although pressure was observed in stock and bond markets during the reporting period, gold investments made a significant positive contribution to the portfolio. At the same time, SOFAZ’s private equity, real estate, and infrastructure assets also demonstrated positive returns.
It was emphasized that although yields in the bond markets of developed countries decreased in the first two months of the year, an increase was recorded in March due to rising energy prices and strengthened inflation expectations against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East. This had a negative impact on bond prices. While this dynamic was felt more in European markets, the portfolio of debt instruments denominated in US dollars maintained relative stability.
According to the information, although global stock markets showed positive dynamics at the beginning of the quarter, they subsequently declined as geopolitical risks increased.
The Fund added that gold also started 2026 with high results. Although a partial decrease in prices was observed in March, the quarter ended positively overall, which led to the formation of extra-budgetary revenues for SOFAZ’s gold sub-portfolio.