Lure of sovereign wealth fuels hedge fund rush to Dubai

Lure of sovereign wealth fuels hedge fund rush to Dubai

A growing number of top hedge funds are setting up shop in Dubai, as the lure of low taxes and the region’s deep-pocketed investors cements the emirate’s status as an industry hub.

Quant investing giant AQR, and multi-strategy firms such as Sculptor and Lighthouse Investment Partners are among the hedge funds to establish a presence in the city over the past year, according to regulatory disclosures and industry sources.

The moves highlight how the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic has added impetus to the Dubai authorities’ two-decade push to become the regional base for the hedge fund industry. Of the 40 funds registered in the emirate as of July, more than a third arrived in the past 12 months, according to figures from the Dubai International Regulatory Authority. The majority are London or New York-based firms opening subsidiaries.

Executives and traders say the absence of personal income tax in the United Arab Emirates has left the city well-placed in an escalating war for hedge fund talent which has seen in-demand portfolio managers offered millions of dollars in signing bonuses.

But hedge fund executives also admit a local presence is as much a long-term business decision and signal to the region’s influential and wealthy state-backed