Abu Dhabi’s international financial center celebrated its first decade of operations on March 30, with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) officials issuing a list of glowing figures highlighting the center’s 2025 growth.
ADGM saw a 36% jump in assets under management last year, and its ranks of asset and fund managers grew to 171, collectively overseeing 244 funds. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority issued 94 new Financial Services Permissions during the year, and the list of alternative investment firms that set up shop at ADGM in 2025 featured HarbourVest Partners, Fortress Investment Group, Polen Capital, Davidson Kempner, Harrison Street, Monroe Capital, and Temasek’s Seviora.
What the ADGM statement did not mention was the fact that the anniversary came four weeks into the Iran war, which began on Feb. 28 and quickly drew the Gulf states that host American military bases into the line of fire. In fact, just four days before the ADGM announcement, shrapnel from an intercepted missile killed two men—a Pakistani national and an Indian national—and wounded three others on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
Bucking expectations
The unprecedented strikes on the UAE, Qatar, and other stable Gulf nations led industry observers to wonder whether this was the end of the region’s remarkable run as a haven for global capital, while local officials warned that governments may need to reassess their overseas investment priorities. However, the pace of dealmaking and fund formation in the weeks that followed has not borne out that scenario.
The $580 billion Qatar Investment Authority participated in two U.S. venture rounds in the first month of the war. On March 5, it backed a $500 million financing for Vast, a developer of commercial space stations. On March 31, it joined a $575 million Series G for WHOOP that valued the wearable health company at $10.1 billion. The round was led by Collaborative Fund and drew investors including star athletes Cristiano Ronaldo and Rory McIlroy.
Foreign managers pressed ahead with expansion plans in the UAE as well. Muzinich & Co., a corporate credit specialist, opened an ADGM office on March 30, led by Filomena Cocco, managing director for global business development. Chief Executive Justin Muzinich said the firm’s presence reflected its belief in the region’s long-term future.
Three days later, on April 2, Hillhouse Investment Management opened its own ADGM office after securing a Category 3C license from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The Asia-focused alternative manager already has UAE exposure through Ascentium, its business services platform, and Rava Partners, its real assets arm.
Mubadala Capital notches $900m fundraise
On April 7, the day a ceasefire in the Iran conflict was announced, Mubadala Capital—the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company—closed its third Brazil fund at roughly $900 million, overshooting an initial $750 million target.
Mubadala Capital provided a $250 million anchor commitment, with the balance coming mostly from international pension schemes, family offices and private capital funds. About a third of the fund has already been deployed into assets including a gym chain, the Rio de Janeiro metro system, a toll road and a medical university.
The fund close was a discreet affair, with no press statement issued, but Mubadala Capital CIO Oscar Fahlgren told the Financial Times that the war had neither reduced its commitment to the fund nor delayed its timeline. “We’re not going to redirect capital to the Middle East,” he said, though he added that the firm would consider raising a Middle East-focused vehicle if a market opportunity arose.
Mubadala Capital advises on and administers $430 billion in assets. It raised $322 million for its first Brazil fund in 2022 and $710 million for a second in 2023. Fahlgren said a recent wave of Brazilian bankruptcies and out-of-court debt restructurings was creating openings for the firm, which is also exploring expansion elsewhere in Latin America.
PIF sets roadmap for next five years
The pace of announcements accelerated last week even as the ceasefire appeared to be in doubt. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund approved its 2026-2030 strategy under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The plan reorganizes PIF’s holdings into three portfolios—Vision, Strategic and Financial—and commits the fund to building out six domestic ecosystems covering tourism, urban development, advanced manufacturing, industrials and logistics, clean energy, and NEOM.
PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the new strategy marked a shift from a phase of rapid growth into one of sustained value creation, with a tighter focus on efficiency, governance and institutional standards.
The fund has grown its assets under management from $150 billion in 2015 to more than $900 billion and has delivered an annualized total shareholder return above 7% since 2017. Between 2021 and 2025, PIF invested more than $199 billion in new Saudi projects and contributed more than $243 billion to real non-oil GDP from 2021 through 2024.
Bain Capital, Barings arrive in ADGM
On Thursday, two more global managers set up shop at ADGM.
For Barings, opening an Abu Dhabi office followed the launch of its Dubai office in 2024. Barings Chairman and CEO Mike Freno said being on the ground would help the firm serve clients across global credit markets. Waleed Zamel, managing director and head of Middle East for Barings’ global client group, said the firm was seeing appetite among regional investors across public credit, private credit, and real estate strategies.
On the same day, Bain Capital opened an Abu Dhabi office built around three pillars: reinforcing capital formation with regional investors, supporting the expansion of portfolio companies in the Middle East, and positioning the firm to pursue direct investments in the region over time. The office also extends a partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office under the emirate’s Fintech, Insurance, Digital and Alternative Assets cluster.
David Gross, managing partner at Bain Capital, said Abu Dhabi offered a platform with the regulatory environment and strategic connectivity the firm was seeking. Tom Sargeant, partner and head of Asia-Pacific and Middle East investor relations, said many of the region’s institutions had been long-term investors in Bain Capital funds and that the new office would allow closer collaboration.
H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM, said the continued arrival of global firms pointed to an alignment with markets offering regulatory clarity, institutional strength and long-term stability, and that ADGM supplied that foundation through its legal framework, access to patient capital and infrastructure built to support international investors at scale.
“Bain Capital’s presence reinforces Abu Dhabi’s role as a platform where international capital connects with regional opportunity, and where long-term partnerships are built with confidence,” he said.
