Abu Dhabi's financial centre ADGM said its workforce has risen to nearly 50,000 as the financial hub welcomed more asset managers in the first half of the year.
Assets under management at ADGM grew 54 per cent annually in the first six months, with 49,027 professionals now based out of Al Maryah Island and Al Reem Island, an increase of 34 per cent on the same period last year.
The number of active licences rose to about 14,000, with 1,814 issued during the first half, ADGM said in a statement on Tuesday. These cover operating companies and financial institutions, as well as the holding and investment structures through which capital is structured and deployed into and from Abu Dhabi.
“The scale of growth we are witnessing across capital, institutions, businesses and talent demonstrates sustained international confidence in Abu Dhabi,” said Ahmed Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM.
“Through ADGM, we are … reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as the capital of capital and advancing our ambition to become among the world’s top-five leading international financial centres.”
ADGM, the largest international financial centre in the Middle East and Africa region by the number of active licences, has continued to attract global institutions despite the Iran war, now in its seventh month.
UAE capital has in recent months attracted high-profile companies such as private credit lender Blue Owl Capital, tech-focused US private equity company Vista Equity Partners, Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund, Barings, Bain Capital, Cantor and Swiss derivative investment company Adapt Investment Managers.
Collectively, asset managers that established operations in ADGM in the first half of the year oversee more than $2.1 trillion in global assets under management, the statement said.
The number of fund and asset managers based in ADGM reached 190, up 23 per cent annually, with 11 managers added in the second quarter. Meanwhile, funds at the hub increased by 32 per cent year-on-year to 276 in the January-to-June period.
Several 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.
ADGM said it is also recording a rise in institutions deploying capital into artificial intelligence, with more than $100 billion in AI-focused investment now held by entities established in the financial centre, such as MGX.
During the first half of 2026, the financial centre also completed the first phase of its AI implementation, which has reduced manual workload by more than 5,000 staff hours annually, it said.
ADGM is also focusing on the “data, governance, cybersecurity and workforce foundations required to scale AI responsibly”, it added.
Under a technology road map extending up to 2029, ADGM said it will invest more than Dh400 million ($109 million) to expand these capabilities, strengthen digital infrastructure and modernise core regulatory and operational systems.
