Abu Dhabi’s ADGM posted a 57 per cent increase in assets under management in the first quarter of this year amid strong business momentum, as well as the continued flow of capital and talent to the emirate’s financial centre.
The number of asset and fund managers at the ADGM at the end of three-month period to the end of March climbed 24 per cent to 179, it said in a statement on Monday. The number of funds managed out of the ADGM, one of the world’s fastest-growing onshore financial centres, also jumped 43 per cent to 263 as its financial services’ ecosystem expanded.
“ADGM’s performance in the first quarter of 2026 reflects the scale, pace and growing global relevance of Abu Dhabi’s financial ecosystem,” ADGM chairman Ahmed Al Zaabi said.
The more than 50 per cent jump in assets under management at ADGM underpins the centre’s growth trajectory and investor confidence in Abu Dhabi’s financial and economic fundamentals, he added.
“Capital continues to flow, global firms continue to expand and talent continues to relocate to Abu Dhabi,” Mr Al Zaabi said. “During the recent period of regional uncertainty, ADGM continued to grow, reflecting sustained demand and long-term confidence in Abu Dhabi’s institutional environment.”
A base in Abu Dhabi provides global investors and money managers with opportunities to expand regional operations and work closely with some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, as well as large family offices and institutional investors.
The UAE capital is home to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company and L'imad, which has taken control of the investment holding company ADQ.
Despite the uncertainty created by the Iran war, the emirate has in recent months attracted high-profile companies including Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, Barings, which has $418 billion in assets under management, and Bain Capital, which manages $215 billion.
A number of trillion-dollar asset managers have also chosen the ADGM as its base for operations, including BlackRock, State Street, Prudential Financial's global asset management unit PGIM, Chicago investment company Nuveen and, last week, Capital Group, which manages $3.3 trillion in assets.
Asset managers who established a presence in the ADGM this year collectively managed $4.4 trillion in global assets, which reinforces the centre’s “growing prominence as a hub for institutional capital”, ADGM said on Monday.
Its broader business ecosystem also expanded, with total active licences reaching 13,353, including 961 new licences issued during the first three months of this year. The number of operational entities in the financial centre has also increased by 34.5 per cent on an annual basis to 3,741, the latest ADGM data shows.
