The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (The Council) is an investment arm of the Government of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

. It started operations in April 2007 and is responsible for investing part of the government's surplus financial resources through a globally diversified

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

strategy, targeting positive capital returns through an expansive portfolio of highly diversified asset classes and active investment management strategies.

History

The Abu Dhabi Investment Council was splintered off from the

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ar, جهاز أبوظبي للاستثمار, ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Go ...

(ADIA) in 2007 and took over all local subsidiaries previously owned by ADIA including

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC ( ar, بنك أبوظبي التجاري) (), commonly called ADCB, is a bank in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) was formed in 1985 as a public shareholding company with limited liability, ...

National Bank of Abu Dhabi National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) ( ar, بنك أبوظبي الوطني) was a bank operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until it merged with the First Gulf Bank in December 2016 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank. NBAD was the largest lender ba ...

and Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Invest AD). Since Autumn 2013 the Council has been based at

Al Bahr Towers Al Bahr Towers is a development in the emirate of Abu Dhabi consisting of two 29-storey, 145m–high towers. It is located at the intersection of Al Saada and Al Salam Street in Abu Dhabi City, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at the easter ...

Investment strategy

The investment strategy of the Council seeks to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns across the entire

capital structure In corporate finance, capital structure refers to the mix of various forms of external funds, known as capital, used to finance a business. It consists of shareholders' equity, debt (borrowed funds), and preferred stock, and is detailed in th ...

while preserving capital. Although the Council invests globally, there is a strong focus of investing in Abu Dhabi's economy. Some of its significant investments include: *

Union National Bank Union National Bank (UNB) was a bank based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 1982 until it merged with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank in 2019. It was established as a Public Joint Stock Company in 1982 became one of the UAE's leading domestic ...

* Al Hilal Bank *

Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company PSC ( ar, شركة أبوظبي الوطنية التأمين; ADNIC) is an insurance company based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the third largest insurer in the country as of May 2015. ADNIC was ...

* Abu Dhabi Aviation Company * Abu Dhabi Investment Company (Invest AD) * Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Company Notably in 2008, the Council acquired 90% ownership of New York's landmark

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At , it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel fra ...

Business functions

Office of the Managing Director

The Managing Director is the highest-ranking officer within the Council. He reports to the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

and is responsible for the operations of the Council.

Active Investment Strategies

The Active Investment Strategies Department aims to generate superior risk adjusted returns by investing in

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...

s and similar active trading mandates across different strategies, globally. The department co-invests in individual transactions by partnering with

Hedge Funds A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...

and takes GP stakes in Hedge Funds and/or Seed Hedge Funds. Some of the global mainstream strategies include: * Relative Value Strategies * Hedged Equity Strategies * Macro Strategies * Event Driven Strategies * Systematic CTA

Direct Investments

The Direct Investments Department invests directly in listed and unlisted companies across the globe, with a particular emphasis on the MENA Region. It is focused on creating a concentrated portfolio of highly

uncorrelated In probability theory and statistics, two real-valued random variables, X, Y, are said to be uncorrelated if their covariance, \operatorname ,Y= \operatorname Y- \operatorname \operatorname /math>, is zero. If two variables are uncorrelated, ther ...

securities reflecting the broad nature of investment opportunities the Council is exposed to. In this respect, investments are considered for their intrinsic characteristics rather than within a portfolio context. In addition, it is also responsible for monitoring and optimizing the value of the Council's legacy portfolio consisting of 12 investments in local financial institutions and other prominent companies.

Equities and Fixed Income

The

Equities In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

and

Fixed Income Fixed income refers to any type of investment under which the borrower or issuer is obliged to make payments of a fixed amount on a fixed schedule. For example, the borrower may have to pay interest at a fixed rate once a year and repay the prin ...

Department manages listed portfolios concentrated in the following areas: * Equities that include Global and Regional Large Cap Equities, Emerging Market Equities and Small Cap Equities * Fixed Income that includes Sovereign, Global Inflation Linked, Credit and Emerging Debt Securities

Global Special Situations

The Special Situations Unit invests in one-off opportunities that may not fit in any of the council's asset classifications yet generate a higher return than other asset classes. These investments are placed both directly and through managed funds.

Infrastructure Investments

The

Infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

Investments Department is responsible for building a portfolio of global infrastructure investments as well as contributing to the growth of the local economy through participation in local developments. Its investments target large-scale public systems that are vital to countries’ economies including transportation, communication, utilities & power and social infrastructures (i.e. schools and hospitals). Exposure to these investments is gained through externally managed funds, but also includes the possibility of co-investments in suitable infrastructure projects.

Real Estate

The

Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

Department invests in global markets through externally managed funds as well as targeted direct investments by building relationships with managers, deploying stringent selection criteria, and executing a broad diversification strategy with respect to geography, size, timing and investment philosophy.

Private Equity

The

Private Equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

Department places funds in global private equity markets and invests directly primarily alongside its managers.

Support Functions

Various functions support the investment and non-investment activities of the Council. They include: * Accounting & Financial Services providing cash management, investment accounting and reporting, and custodial services * Human Resources providing recruitment, talent management, and career development services * Information Technology providing platform, systems, solutions, and data services * General Services providing logistics and facilities support services * Management Accounts providing payroll, accounts payables, and expense management services

Board of directors

The Board of Directors is the highest authority within the Council and is composed of a Chairman, Managing Director and other board members, all of whom are senior government officials appointed by Decree from the Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Chairman of the Board: Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Members of the Board: Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mohammed Bin Habroush Al Suwaidi Eissa Mohamed Al Suwaidi (managing director) Younis Haji Khoori MR SHUBHRAW PRATAP DASGUPTA (Member of Group Consultant to Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan or Board)

References

External links

Abu Dhabi Investment Council
{{authority control Investment companies of the United Arab Emirates Government-owned companies of Abu Dhabi Sovereign wealth funds 2007 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Outward investment