Dubai: Brevan Howard Asset Management is opening an outpost in Abu Dhabi, joining a string of peers expanding in the Middle East region that’s fast becoming a major hub for hedge funds.
The Jersey, Channel Islands-based investment firm, best known for macro trading and a recent push into digital assets, plans to have about 100 people in the region, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Some of the staff will be supporting Brevan Howard’s digital currency fund, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
A spokesman for the firm declined to comment.
The move follows efforts by Abu Dhabi, whose sovereign wealth funds oversee more than $1.2 trillion, to draw in more foreign money and financial firms. A growing number of hedge fund traders also want to be based there.
Attractive business environment
The UAE already plays host to a number of alternative investors. Multi-strategy hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management is set to open an office in Dubai during the first quarter, Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management has more than two dozen staff in the city, while Michael Gelband’s ExodusPoint Capital Management is also expanding there. Michael Platt’s private investment firm BlueCrest Capital Management is building a presence too.
With double-digit gains in its two main hedge funds in 2022, Brevan Howard is on its strongest footing in years as CEO Aron Landy executes his business plans, having taken over the role from co-founder Alan Howard in 2019. Assets have risen to $30 billion, or about five times the lows seen in late 2018, while headcount has grown to more than 700.
Brevan Howard has expanded its offerings to more than 10 funds, adding liquid credit and systematic trading to its core macro strategies. It has also been building out BH Digital to take advantage of rising institutional interest in emerging cryptoassets. The firm opened new sites in the Cayman Islands, Paris and Chicago last year.
