• Asia-Pacific and North America also rate highly

Abu Dhabi, UAE – Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex Group”), the leading global financial services provider, announces the Middle East is expected to offer the highest growth potential for private capital in 2025; according to investors and allocators managing over $4 trillion of assets.

A clear majority (39%) of attendees at Apex Invest Abu Dhabi – held from 18-19 November 2024 - ranked the region as offering the highest growth potential for private capital deployment in 2025, followed by Asia-Pacific (30%) and North America (22%). Europe, Africa, and South America rated less highly; amid various socioeconomic and geopolitical factors.

Apex Invest Abu Dhabi welcomed senior representatives from major regional asset managers including Mubadala, ADIC, ADIA, ADQ, PIF and OIA, plus other Family Offices, Sovereign Wealth Funds, and investor institutions.

Surveyed asset managers predicted private equity (“PE”), and venture capital (“VC”) presented the greatest opportunities to find alpha – beating benchmarked market returns – in the short-term and outstripping other asset classes.

The results follow moves to active asset management strategies, with PE and VC firms planning increased engagement with portfolio companies to drive returns and safeguard impact (88% agreed). Impact will become increasingly influential over the next decade, with 71% of attendees forecasting a steer in asset management strategies to both risk-adjusted return and impact.

Attendees also agreed private credit will remain an attractive asset class.

Christiane El Habre, Regional Managing Director – Middle East, Apex Group, said: 

“The Middle East remains an attractive proposition for asset managers. Various government initiatives, private sector reforms, and strong capital inflows are driving investment into the region’s domestic markets. This is creating opportunities for asset managers who can allocate capital productively and create returns via active management strategies.

“The high-level insight from attendees and speakers at Apex Invest Abu Dhabi reflects positively on the growing maturity of the region’s asset management landscape; a trend which Apex Group is pleased to support.”

Despite the optimistic outlook on the Middle East, managers reiterated several challenges in achieving portfolio diversification goals. Fifty-four percent highlighted access to quality assets is a key constraint, whilst 21% indicated market volatility is impeding progress.

Regulatory constraints and capital raising challenges (13% each) are also of concern; albeit key markets in the region are constantly evolving to meet asset manager and business needs.

Healthcare and ensuring healthy lifespans were also key topics of debate during Apex Invest Abu Dhabi; prompted by an exclusive speech from Dr. Greg Bailey, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, Juvenescence, discussing insights from his upcoming book, “The Long Game: Investing in Your Wealthspan in the Age of Longevity”.

Notably, attendees identified a significant disparity in likely and preferred life expectancies in the current healthcare system. Nearly 70% desired to live between 75-100 years of age – while 66% expressed a preference for living up to 150 years of age - if they remained healthy.

Apex Invest Abu Dhabi is a premier investor networking event, held as part of the Apex Invest Events series – bringing allocators and asset managers together for exclusive insights, knowledge-sharing, and curated relationship building opportunities.

Regional Apex Invest events for 2025 will be announced in due course.

Further information 
Thoburns 
Simran Randhawa 
apex@thoburns.com 

Newsroom 
media@apexgroup.com  

About Apex Group 

Apex Group is dedicated to driving positive change in financial services while fueling the growth and ambitions of asset managers, allocators, financial institutions, and family offices. Established in Bermuda in 2003, the Group has continually disrupted the asset servicing industry through its investment in innovation and talent. Today, Apex Group sets the pace in asset servicing and stands out for its unique single-source solution and unified cross asset-class platform which supports the entire value chain, harnesses leading innovative technology, and benefits from cross-jurisdictional expertise delivered by a long-standing management team and over 13,000 highly integrated professionals.    

Apex Group leads the asset servicing industry with a broad and unmatched range of services, including capital raising, business and corporate management, fund and investor administration, portfolio and investment administration, ESG, capital markets and transactions support. These services are tailored to each client and are delivered both at the Group level and via specialist subsidiary brands. 

The Apex Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, is the Group’s passionate commitment to empower sustainable change. 

Apex Invest Abu Dhabi 

Apex Invest Abu Dhabi is a premier investor networking event, held at The Hilton, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on November 18-19, 2024. Part of the Apex Invest Events series, it brought together leading allocators and managers for exclusive insights into investment strategies, capital raising, and industry trends. The event featured high-profile speakers, thought leadership sessions, and curated opportunities for relationship building and knowledge sharing within the global financial community. 

Speakers included:  

  • Ahmed Nasser Al Nowais, Founder and CEO, Annex Investments 
  • Ali El Adou, Head of Asset Management, Entrust Capital 
  • Amb. Dr. Neil Parsan, Former Ambassador TT to USA, Secretary for Development - OAS 
  • Dr. Greg Bailey, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, Juvenescence 
  • Dr. Mohamad Hamade, Founder & CEO, Lumino Capital 
  • Ekta Tolani, Chief Investment Officer, KBW Investments 
  • Isabelle Freidheim, Founder and Managing Partner, Athena Capital 
  • James Munce, CEO & Chief Investment Officer, HYCAP 
  • Jarred Glansbeek, Chief Investment Officer, RisCura 
  • Joseph Iskander, CEO, Entrust Capital Ltd   
  • Kari Chaudhry, CEO and Founder, APEX Global Forum 
  • Mary Anne Scicluna, Senior Executive Director, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Abu Dhabi  
  • Ryan Friedman, Chief Investment Officer, Investec