The UAE’s rise as a global private capital hub
10 September 2025
The September edition of The Alternative Investor is out now — spotlighting the UAE’s rapid rise as a global hub for private capital.
In recent news, hedge funds delivered broad gains in August, with equity hedge and China strategies leading. While fundraising momentum remained strong, spanning secondaries, private credit, technology and even sports, while sovereign wealth investors like Abu Dhabi’s Lunate deepened their influence with high-profile deals.
In our Op-Ed, Ovata Capital’s James Burdett opines on why retail investors remain structurally disadvantaged.
At the heart of this edition is the UAE, where Dubai and Abu Dhabi are reshaping private capital flows and redefining the region’s role in global finance
- Salmaan Jaffery (DIFC Authority) on Dubai’s growing dominance in private markets.
- Nick Smith (Highbrook Capital) on ADGM’s first decade as a funds hub.
- Emmanuel Givanakis (ADGM FSRA) on the region’s hedge fund appeal.
- Owen McLennan & Anna Terrizzi (Denton’s) on UAE private credit frameworks.
- Mazen Najjar (Marex) on the realities of hedge fund launches in the Gulf.
- Alex Gemici (Greenstone) on why the UAE matters more than ever to global fund managers.
- Christine Cairns (PwC) on deepening UAE–UK wealth corridors.
- Richard Aldridge (Black Swan Group) on how private credit growth is reshaping the talent map.
In Letter from America, Prosek Partners’ Mark Kollar looks at Washington’s push to open retirement plans to alternatives.
We close with our regulatory update from RQC Group on FCA non-financial misconduct rules, SMCR reform, transaction reporting fines and FinCEN’s AML delay.
