Private credit lender Blue Owl Capital is opening an office in Abu Dhabi’s ADGM, the latest wall street firm to join the rapidly growing list of global asset managers calling the emirate’s financial hub home despite war-driven uncertainties.
The move to set up base in one of the fastest-growing financial centres in the region is in line with the company's plans to expand its global footprint and underpins its long-term commitment to the Middle East, the company said in a statement.
The ADGM office will be Blue Owl’s regional headquarters, allowing the company, which has $315 billion in assets under management, to better serve its clients in the region.
The new office – seventh in the Europe Middle East and Africa region and 23rd globally – will help to solidify its position in the UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy.
"Over the last decade, the Middle East has emerged as both a strategic global market and a sophisticated investor across asset classes, particularly alternatives," Haitham Abdulkarim, managing director and senior executive officer of Blue Owl's Abu Dhabi office, said.
"As our platform continues to grow, expanding into Abu Dhabi … was a natural evolution for the firm, enabling us to meet clients where they are and in a jurisdiction that supports long-term partnerships and institutional growth."
Continued appeal
Blue Owl’s move to set up base in Abu Dhabi underscores the emirate’s continued appeal for the global asset managers and financial giant despite war-driven uncertainties.
The UAE, which like its peers in the six-member economic bloc of the GCC, has faced Iranian missile and drone attacks since the breakout of the US-Israel war with Iran. However, the conflict, now in its fourth month, has not deterred international financial firms, including several trillion-dollar asset managers, to set up an operational base in Abu Dhabi.
A base in the UAE capital 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 emirate is home to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company and L'imad, which has taken control of the investment holding company ADQ.
Abu Dhabi in recent months has attracted high-profile companies, including Vista Equity Partners, the tech-focused US private equity company managing $107 billion in assets, Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, Barings, which has $418 billion in assets under management, and Bain Capital, which has $215 billion in client assets.
A number of trillion-dollar asset managers are also anchored at ADGM. These include BlackRock, State Street, Prudential Financial's global asset management unit PGIM, Chicago investment company Nuveen, and Capital Group, with $3.3 trillion in assets.
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 from January to the end of March climbed 24 per cent to 179, the financial hub said last month. The number of funds managed out of the ADGM also jumped 43 per cent to 263 as its financial services’ ecosystem continues to expanded.
