Dubai and Abu Dhabi race to lure world’s wealth managers

Abu Dhabi is emerging from Dubai’s shadow as it attracts its own share of asset managers’ and billionaires’ wealth, helping cement UAE’s role as an alternative to global financial hubs.

Lacking rich oil reserves, Dubai has built up its position over the past two decades as the region’s number one financial centre, with its allure of low taxes, the application of English common law and exposure to the region’s brisk economic growth.

Globally, Dubai ranks 16^th in the latest tally from the Global Financial Centres Index, while Abu Dhabi is 35^th, with both number one and two, respectively, for the Middle East and Africa region.

But over the past few years, Abu Dhabi, which holds 90 per cent of UAE’s oil reserves, has accelerated efforts to diversify its economy, leaning on its vast wealth and sovereign funds that together manage almost $2tn to boost non-oil growth.

The emergence of companies in a range of new sectors and the potential for business created by Abu Dhabi’s investments have not gone unnoticed in the international financial community.

“It’s completely changed in the past year; there’s been an influx of money managers, hedge funds, alternatives, etc., coming to conferences to raise funds here,” said Ryan Lemand, co-founder and CEO of Abu Dhabi-based fund management and investment advisory firm, Neovision Wealth Management.

Some have already set up shop in Dubai, or increasingly, Abu Dhabi to gain an edge over those travelling from London, New York, or Hong Kong to drum up new business.

Lemand was speaking ahead of this week’s Alternative Investment Management (AIM) Summit in Dubai that drew hundreds of institutions from across the globe, including names such as Brevan Howard and JPMorgan Asset Management.

While statistics for both centres are not entirely comparable, they show Dubai remains well ahead. The Dubai International Financial Centre currently has so far over 420 wealth and asset management firms operating in the city, its head of wealth and asset management said at the AIM conference. There were no recent figures for Abu Dhabi, and data from the end of June showed 112 fund firms registered there.

The latter has clear momentum, though, according to eight attendees of the AIM Summit.

New wealth management arrivals

They cited rising company registrations, the draw of sovereign wealth funds and the ease of obtaining a license to operate compared with other financial centres and now at par with Dubai’s. They spoke on background because the subject matter was sensitive to their business.

Billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, and other hedge funds, including Brevan Howard, are among those who now have a presence in Abu Dhabi. Asset managers PGIM, the investment management arm of US insurer Prudential Financial and Nuveen are also new additions.

General Atlantic, a New York-based private equity firm with $83bn in management, is also set to join after it receives preliminary approval.

A further dozen or so asset managers and hedge funds have been approved in principle, according to data from Abu Dhabi Global Market, the city’s financial centre.

Abu Dhabi is the world’s richest city when measured by the assets held by sovereign wealth funds, sitting on $1.7tn, with such funds managing around $500bn in Dubai, according to a Global SWF report released earlier this month.

An employee at one investment firm, who declined to be named, said the bigger presence of sovereign wealth funds served as an incentive to set up in Abu Dhabi.

For both centres, the ease and clarity of regulations has been a significant draw for financial investors.

“The regulatory environment is extremely favourable,” said Brandon Robinson deputy head of private markets at JPMorgan Asset Management.

UAE’s ambition to become a global centre for the crypto industry, with the regulator for the emerging sector operating in Dubai since 2022, is also wooing new players.

The US lacks an overarching national framework, while European Union rules are coming into force this year, placing the UAE ahead of global financial hubs.

Brevan Howard does a significant amount of its crypto trading from UAE, Ryan Taylor, group head of compliance at the hedge fund, told the AIM conference.

Both cities also work hard to boost tourism and property investment, and for some, Dubai, with a longer record of drawing international finance and vibrant entertainment, was still ahead.

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