(Bloomberg) -- Advisory firm Rede Partners LLP plans to open an office in Dubai in early 2025, joining the rush of hedge funds and asset managers setting up in the Middle Eastern business hub.
The firm, which specializes in private markets, will have a team of four dedicated to the region, led by newly-promoted partner James Varela, according to a statement.
“Dubai stands out as a very strong hub” due to its regulatory environment and connectivity, Chief Executive Officer Adam Turtle said in an interview. “There is quite a strong concentration of investors in Dubai in particular. We’re also seeing a big increase in family offices that are based there.”
Numerous hedge funds have flocked to Dubai in the past two years, lured by low taxes, liberal visa policies and a time zone conducive for trading most markets. Neighboring Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh too have been wooing global firms, as the competition to become the region’s preeminent investment hub intensifies.
Meanwhile, sovereign wealth funds from Mubadala Investment Co. to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have joined investors around the world in piling into the burgeoning market for private credit. Dubai’s stock exchange recently launched a platform it says would make it easier for local companies to raise such debt.
Sitting atop nearly $4 trillion in assets, the region’s wealth funds are evolving and seeking opportunities to co-invest with global money managers. These firms are now “encouraging their managers to develop activities in the Middle East to support the development of Middle Eastern markets,” Turtle said.
Rede Partners has raised over €100 billion since its founding in 2011, including €6 billion from Middle Eastern investors.
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Turtle said the impact of a further decline in oil prices — that’ve fallen 16% this quarter — on fundraising and deal activity in the region will be limited.
“What’s very exciting for us about the region is how the market has diversified from a sources of capital perspective”, the CEO said. “You’re seeing more grassroots types of investing — pension funds, family offices — where the money isn’t oil related.”
--With assistance from Dinesh Nair.
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