US alternative asset manager Sculptor Capital Management has received the green light from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulator, officially joining a wave of financial institutions that are listing the emirate as a new silicon belt for the hedge fund industry, Bloomberg has reported. According to ADGM’s listing, Adrian Kohlberg, executive managing director and global co-head of client partner group, has joined the board of directors of the local “subsidiary”; the top manager recently relocated to Dubai, underscoring the strategic importance of the region in the firm’s global network.
The USSEC filing shows that Sculptor — with $34 billion in AUM — already has a presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre, so the new license creates a two-pronged model of presence in the UAE. The company is no stranger to the Gulf market: in 2020, it played a key role in the restructuring of NMCHealthcare, the region’s largest healthcare defaulter. The move opens up access to deep pools of sovereign wealth and positions Sculptor at the forefront of the battle for mandates from family offices, which are rapidly multiplying amid post-oil diversification.
Abu Dhabi is home to investment funds
Abu Dhabi is home to three heavyweight sovereign wealth funds (ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ), which together control almost $1.7 trillion and form one of the world’s most powerful buy-side centers. To take the lead from Dubai and the fast-growing Riyadh, the emirate is luring global asset managers with a tax-free regime, a simplified rulebook and direct access to sovereign dry powder. Sculptor has already been joined by BlackRock Inc., as well as Seviora Holdings, the $54 billion asset arm of Temasek, which has chosen Abu Dhabi for its MENA headquarters.
Regional peer pressure is intensifying: Kuwait and Qatar are rolling out their own programs to attract foreign financial companies, reducing regulatory friction and offering state capital in a co-investment format. In this race, ADGM is betting on a “one-stop-shop” model: a fast license, English law, independent courts and a direct bridge to sovereign LPs. For Sculptor, this means not only a booking center, but also a gateway to partnerships in credit, real estate and special situations that the emirate finances within the framework of its global energy and technology expansion.
Sculptor’s multi-strategy portfolio: what the GCC market will gain
Sculptor Capital is one of the largest institutional alternative managers, operating a multi-strat platform: from event-driven and convertible arbitrage to structured credit and opportunistic real estate. The license in ADGM will allow the firm to offer these strategies to local pension funds, insurance houses and family offices, which are increasingly diversifying their portfolios beyond energy beta. The company is expected to roll out a client-partner desk for direct-raising regional capital and launch feeder funds under local regulation, while retaining global risk management in New York and London. Analysts see a win-win: GCC investors gain access to high-alpha strategies with a global track record, and Sculptor gains stable inflows in an environment where developed-market allocators are tightening exposure due to macro volatility. At the same time, the arrival of another marquee name in the capital strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as an emerging alternative asset powerhouse, capable of competing with established hubs from London to Singapore in the big game for global capital.