ADGM Expands Global Reach As 11 Firms Bring More Than $9 Trillion In Assets Under Management

Abu Dhabi Global Market is entering its second decade with a sharp rise in scale and profile, after confirming that 11 major global financial institutions with more than US$9 trillion in assets under management are joining its community, a development showcased during Abu Dhabi Finance Week and reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s goal to be the "Capital of Capital".

The new arrivals follow a rapid build-up of activity over recent years and support ADGM’s ambition to rank among the world’s top five international financial centres, highlighting Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a base for global capital flows, cross-border investment and advanced financial services across asset classes.

Assets represented within ADGM have grown from US$450 billion in 2023 to US$635 billion last year, before leaping to more than US$9 trillion with the latest commitments, signalling a decisive shift in the financial centre’s scale rather than incremental growth and underlining Abu Dhabi’s position as the region’s fastest-growing international hub for asset management.

During Abu Dhabi Finance Week, which is the fourth and largest edition to date, institutions such as Cantor Fitzgerald, BBVA, Arab Bank Switzerland Gulf Ltd, Plenary ME Infrastructure Partners Ltd., Eurasian Development Bank, ERM and DLA Piper disclosed plans to establish operations in ADGM across asset management, banking, infrastructure investment, sustainability advisory and international legal services, strengthening the depth of its ecosystem.

In a significant digital asset development, Abu Dhabi Finance Week also featured the announcement that Binance became the first crypto exchange to obtain a formal global licence from ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority, allowing Binance to operate under a comprehensive regulatory framework from Abu Dhabi and supporting ADGM’s efforts to build one of the most advanced compliant digital-asset regulatory environments.

Richard Teng, Co-CEO of Binance, commented, "During ADFW, Binance became the first global crypto exchange to secure a comprehensive global licence under the ADGM framework, marking a world first for the digital asset industry. This milestone reflects our compliance-first philosophy and our continued focus on transparency, security, and user protection. Our partnership with ADGM and our presence at ADFW reinforce our strong belief in the long-term growth of the crypto ecosystem."

Further activity within fintech and digital assets is emerging around ADGM, with iCapital confirming the opening of its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi, and firms including Hashed Global Management Ltd., Circle Internet MEA Ltd., Galaxy Digital and Animoca Asset Management choosing ADGM as a base for a larger share of their regional and global operations.

ADGM growth trajectory, asset management data and global financial institutions

The scale of assets represented in ADGM illustrates how quickly the centre is gaining weight in global markets, with the latest US$9 trillion figure standing in sharp contrast to the US$450 billion and US$635 billion levels recorded in 2023 and last year, respectively, and reflecting one of the most notable expansions announced by any international financial centre this year.

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The ADFW announcements also build on a strong pipeline of fourth-quarter commitments from firms such as UBS Group, KKR, Julius Baer, HarbourVest, Madison Realty Capital, Partners Group, DWS and Monroe Capital, showing how ADGM’s growth is being driven by both new entrants and deepening relationships with established global managers across private markets and public markets.

ADGM strategy, Abu Dhabi Finance Week and global "Capital of Capital" vision

Under Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic strategy, ADGM is expected to widen beyond asset management into a full range of financial services, including digital assets, sustainable and green finance, advanced family office structures and sophisticated private wealth platforms, all supported by a regulatory framework that aims to be progressive, proportionate and aligned with leading global standards.

Abu Dhabi’s leadership views ADGM as a gateway for international capital, an environment for financial innovation and a destination for next-generation financial talent, with Abu Dhabi Finance Week providing a stage to highlight these ambitions and to demonstrate how the emirate plans to integrate regulation, technology and market structure to support more complex financial activity.

Commenting on Abu Dhabi and ADGM’s continued momentum, Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of ADGM, said, "The commitments announced during ADFW underscore Abu Dhabi’s rising influence at the centre of global capital flows and the long-term confidence international institutions place in the clarity and scale of our vision. Over the past decade, Abu Dhabi has established a resilient, trusted and progressive financial ecosystem, grounded in robust regulatory foundations. "The addition of global firms managing more than $9 trillion in assets is not a milestone in isolation, but a clear signal of trust in Abu Dhabi’s world-class IFC and its ability to support increasingly sophisticated financial activity."

ADGM Abu Dhabi Finance Week partnerships, liquidity services and market infrastructure

JPMorgan is expanding its payments and treasury services business from ADGM, which will allow the bank to provide a broader suite of solutions, including liquidity management and multi-currency payment services, to regional clients, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s role as a base for sophisticated transaction banking and cash-management operations for corporates and financial institutions.

Depth in ADGM’s ecosystem is also increasing through more advanced activities, highlighted by an announcement from IHC-owned RIQ that it intends to work with Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance and insurance groups, to develop risk, data and AI-powered reinsurance solutions from an ADGM base, supporting Abu Dhabi’s aspirations in next-generation reinsurance services.

Alongside global names, Abu Dhabi-based platforms are contributing to market infrastructure, with 82 Memorandums of Understanding signed during Abu Dhabi Finance Week between entities such as Finstreet and the ADI DLT Foundation and international asset managers including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, while the Majarra–Halo partnership focuses on building next-generation structured-product capabilities from within ADGM.

All market announcements were made under the Abu Dhabi Finance Week theme "Engineering the Capital Network," which brought together global leaders and senior executives from across the financial services sector and the wider capital ecosystem, and collectively these moves underline Abu Dhabi’s growing importance as an international financial centre and ADGM’s role in shaping a more connected and diversified "Capital of Capital" for the next decade.

With inputs from WAM