Photo credit: ADGM
Jane Street Group LLC has filed with regulators in Abu Dhabi to set up a local office. For the fastest-growing financial centre in MENA, with 245% growth in assets under management, this marks another significant win for Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The firm will look to establish a presence in the Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone that’s home to global banks, asset managers, family offices, and hedge funds.
Jane Street has expanded to make markets in areas including exchange-traded funds, stocks, currencies, derivatives and bonds, generating a record $20.5 billion in net trading revenue last year.
DWS Group
It joins a growing list of firms looking to set up in ADGM, including DWS Group, the $1.2 trillion asset management arm of Deutsche Bank AG.
As head of DWS’s Middle East & Africa coverage, Joe Kiwan will relocate from Paris to run the firm’s first physical office in the region, according to people familiar with the matter. The office expects to appoint three sales specialists initially, with plans to expand the team further.
The decision comes as DWS Chief Executive Officer Stefan Hoops aims to position the firm as the preferred asset manager for investments into Europe, its home market Germany, and expand its network in the Middle East as mentioned in the statement last January, 2025.
ADGM’s performance
- The asset management sector was a key indicator of ADGM’s growth last year. During Q1 2025, AUMs grew 33% compared to Q1 2024.
- At the end of Q1 2025, 144 asset and fund managers were based in ADGM, while a total of 184 funds were managed out of ADGM.
- As of Q1 2025, the total number of operational entities in ADGM increased 43% to 2,781, from the same period a year earlier.
- The number of financial services entities increased to 367, indicating a 26% growth from Q1 2024.
Access the original article by Bloomberg here.
Access ADGM’s Q1, 2025 performance report here.
