How Apollo and Blackstone are now wooing Gulf sovereigns

A new level of assertiveness by sovereign wealth funds is changing the way some of the world’s biggest money managers are seeking investment from the Gulf.

Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock and others are being urged and sometimes compelled to set up local offices in the Gulf, hire and train Gulf nationals, arrange investor gatherings and bring more expat professionals to live in the region’s financial capitals, Bloomberg reports.

Among the funds advocating for these upgrades are the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar Investment Authority.

With the total pool of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund assets estimated to reach $7.6 trillion by 2030, these funds want to co-invest, get a larger share of deal profits and strengthen their local economies that are largely built on oil through diversification, according to the news agency.

The largest sovereign wealth funds are focusing on fewer asset management firms, which in turn are doing away with their usual management and performance fees in order to secure commitments for their funds, Bloomberg reports.