UAE’s Aditum pairs with BlackRock to launch funds

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• Aditum manages $7bn assets
• Aditum-BlackRock launch five funds
• Follows UAE’s regulatory changes

Aditum Investment Management is to launch five funds for UAE investors, according to reports confirmed by AGBI.

The five funds will include one focused on sustainable energy investments and another on health science, Citywire first reported. A representative of Blackrock confirmed to AGBI that the Citywire reports are accurate.

Blackrock has registered BlackRock Aditum Dynamic High Income Fund, BlackRock Aditum Global Allocation Fund, BlackRock Aditum Global Multi-Asset Income Fund, BlackRock Aditum Sustainable Energy Fund and BlackRock Aditum World Healthscience Fund, according to the Dubai Financial Services Authority website. 

All five public funds were incorporated on October 25, 2024 in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

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In August, Aditum said it had reached more than $7 billion in assets under management. BlackRock’s assets under management hit $11.5 trillion this year, according to reports. BlackRock shares were trading for $41.08 at time of writing.

Aditum’s partnership with BlackRock follows regulatory changes in the UAE earlier in the year. In April rules were implemented preventing foreign funds from accessing retail investors, not allowing the funds to be directly promoted in the country. 

Accessing the market via a local partner like Aditum is more cost-effective and provides a quicker way to the market, particularly for smaller players.

Since the rule changes, Aditum Investment Management has partnered with UK companies Fundsmith and Standard Chartered, Paris-headquartered Amundi and US investment firm Principal Global Investors.