Fund Managers Express Preference for Staying in Dubai Amid Regional Tensions
Western Media Accused of Overstating the Situation
A report from eFinancialCareers highlights that hedge fund and investment fund managers plan to remain in Dubai despite the recent developments in the Middle East and Iranian aggression towards Gulf states, asserting that Dubai will continue to be a refuge for asset managers.
According to the website, numerous hedge fund managers indicated their intention to stay, emphasizing that their decision isn’t merely out of lack of alternatives, but rather due to the city’s appeal, capabilities, and continuous growth. They believe that Dubai will emerge from the current adversities even more robust and attractive, viewing the ongoing crisis as temporary, which solidifies their preference to remain.
One manager of a prominent investment fund in Dubai remarked, “People have accepted that this is an unprecedented situation,” adding, “We are all calm.”
Another portfolio manager stated that it is inappropriate and absurd to suggest that anyone is contemplating leaving Dubai given the blatant Iranian attacks on Gulf states, all of which have been intercepted.
A senior portfolio manager residing in Palm Jumeirah mentioned that nothing has changed: “There’s absolutely no difference.”
A family office employee commented while watching a soccer match at an outdoor café: “The temperature is 27 degrees; everything is just fine.”
While some around the world speculate about residents leaving the UAE, locals are following Instagram accounts of individuals like Jules Sullivan, a tailor in Dubai, who emphasizes that the perceived risks are exaggerated.
Sullivan stated, “Civilians are not being targeted; this is just a theatrics, and the likelihood of debris falling is less than the risk of slipping in your bathroom.”
He claims that Western media overdramatizes the situation as “malicious aggression towards the Gulf,” adding that “the reality is that my family is safer here in the UAE than they would be in many European cities,” highlighting the UAE’s exceptionally low crime rates in comparison to the West.
One portfolio manager remarked, “If it’s just hours of concern with minimal losses, the UAE could emerge from this situation remarkably strong in a brief period.”