Fiera Capital Corporation, a leading global asset manager with over $122 billion under management, has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, which represents the first step in the company’s growth plans across the GCC region.

Based in the heart of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the Company’s office in the Middle East adds to a growing global footprint spanning four continents.

The newly established office will be co-led by Fiera Capital’s Paul Doyle and Xavier Zawisza, who joins from an investment bank in the UAE.

Enduring ties

Klaus Schuster, CEO, Fiera Capital EMEA emphasised Fiera Capital’s enduring ties with institutional investors across the GCC. “Leveraging the strong relationships we’ve forged with sovereign wealth funds, family offices, pension funds and major listed corporates in the region, we’re taking the next logical step in our expansion,” said Schuster.

“Investors at all tiers have a growing preference for multi-asset portfolio solutions across public and private market strategies which can be tailored to meet specific asset allocation criteria. Our offering in the Middle East will replicate the bedrock on which Fiera Capital’s success has been built; a philosophy of investing in quality over long-term horizons in the absolute pursuit of steady and financially sustainable alpha.”

Fiera Capital is itself an investor in the Gulf region, both in its active positioning across its Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets strategies, in addition to the company’s dedicated Mena mandate. “Being mature investors in the Middle East is a distinct competitive advantage,” commented Schuster.

Value creation

“We’ve proven that we can drive value creation in high-growth geographies as well as on home ground. Investors with capital to deploy at scale are looking for points of difference, especially in a period of global market volatility.”

Priority asset classes for Fiera Capital’s Middle East initiatives include global and Mena-specific equities, as well as real assets including real estate, infrastructure, natural capital and indirect exposure through private credit instruments. Fiera Capital’s OAKS EM Select strategy, which invests in a diversified portfolio of smaller emerging markets securities seeking absolute returns and marked its three-year track record in January 2024, is a standout having outperformed 99% of its peers since its inception, according to Bloomberg data.

Doyle and Zawisza will be responsible for growing Fiera Capital’s established investor base. The pair were selected for their extensive Middle East fundraising expertise and history advising large institutional investors on asset manager search and selection.

Foundation in Mena

The company’s Abu Dhabi office is its self-described ‘foundation’ in Mena, with the expectation being to grow its presence and team in the region over time.

Founded in 2003 by Chairman and Global Chief Executive Officer Jean-Guy Desjardins and headquartered in Montreal, Fiera Capital is one of the largest asset managers in Canada, with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Growth of the firm’s global footprint follows recent appointments of CEOs for EMEA (Klaus Schuster), US (Eric Roberts) and Canada (Maxime Ménard), rebooting Fiera Capital’s regionalised distribution model.

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