US asset manager Stonepeak to set up ADGM base

Company with $71.2bn in assets under management will use UAE office to expand regional operations

Abu Dhabi Global Market is among the fastest growing financial hubs in the Middle East. Victor Besa / The National

Stonepeak, a US-based alternative investment company with $71.2 billion of assets under management, has received regulatory approval to set up a base in Abu Dhabi Global Market to arrange and advise on investment opportunities in the UAE.

The company, which has received financial services permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, will use its base in Abu Dhabi’s financial centre to expand its regional network and source potential investment opportunities in the Gulf and the broader Middle East region, Stonepeak said on Wednesday.

“This expansion reflects our deep commitment to Abu Dhabi and the broader Middle East, enabling us to work more closely with our partners and offer better access to Stonepeak’s global infrastructure platform,” said Hajir Naghdy, senior managing director and head of Asia and the Middle East at Stonepeak.

The company, which specialises in real assets and infrastructure investments, is the latest among top global banks, asset managers, insurers, wealth advisers and some of the fastest growing digital asset companies and start-ups to set up in Abu Dhabi.

PGIM, the global asset management business of the New York-listed Prudential Financial, earlier this month opened an office in ADGM to expand its operations in the Middle East amid a sharp increase in affluent clients in the region.

With $1.33 trillion in assets under management, PGIM also secured FSP from the FSRA to offer advisory services to institutional and professional clients in the region.

Established in 2015, ADGM is one of the world's fastest-growing financial districts. It has recorded rapid growth as Abu Dhabi focuses on attracting more international companies and investors.

In the first half of this year, the capital’s financial centre registered 231 financial services companies – up 31 per cent over the same period last year – with the total number of companies setting up base in ADGM reaching 2,088 by the end of June.

ADGM also issued 1,271 new licences in the first half of the year, up 20.5 per cent on an annual basis, while the number of FSPs granted during the period rose 90 per cent to 42, ADGM said last month.

By the end of June, the number of fund and asset managers operating in ADGM reached 112, managing 141 funds.

Some of the major names within the asset management sector that have been granted an FSP include AXA IM, Eiffel Investment ME, GQG Partners, SS&C Financial Services and Morgan Stanley.

ADGM has also announced new measures to attract more companies to the financial centre.

In July, ADGM said it plans to cut commercial registration licence fees for certain categories while raising them for others, as part of its transitional strategy after the financial district expanded to include Reem Island under its jurisdiction.