Aberdeen opens Abu Dhabi office

Aberdeen Asset Management, one of the UK’s largest fund of funds managers, has opened its first office in the Middle East.

The office will serve as the firm’s regional hub and is located in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s international finance centre on Al Maryah Island, according to a statement.

Aberdeen is the first international asset manager to establish its base in Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone.

Andrew Paul and Lucy Draper have relocated to Abu Dhabi from Aberdeen’s London office. The firm has appointed Paul senior executive officer for Aberdeen Asset Management Middle East and Draper senior business development manager.

Paul joined Aberdeen in 2002 and was most recently head of group strategy in the firm’s distribution division. Draper has been at Aberdeen since 2007 and covered international markets for seven years. Both will continue to report to Nigel Norman, head of Middle East and Africa at Aberdeen, based in London.

“The opening is the natural next step given Aberdeen’s significant client base in the region and having been active in the region for over 20 years,” Aberdeen said in the statement.

The expansion follows an announcement in August that the firm is ramping up its secondaries business, amid an expected rise in deals fuelled by macroeconomic volatility.

The firm, which has 38 global offices and employs 50 professionals in its private equity team, managed £301 billion ($401 billion; €356 billion) in assets as of 30 June, including $32 billion in alternative assets