The secretive sovereign funds of the oil-rich Gulf have long served as a vital cog in the world’s financial machinery: the investment authorities of Kuwait and Abu Dhabi slowly and steadily built fortunes by quietly investing in US bonds and wisely picked stocks. Now a new breed of sovereign wealth fund is emerging, led by a new generation of Gulf Arabs and investors who are willing to take up the mantle of global buyout firms.

The Qatar Investment Authority, formed in 2005, is in the midst of a hiring frenzy as it seeks to add 40 members to its current staff of 110 over the next year, a person familiar with the authority’s thinking told the Financial Times.