Key Takeaways
- • Brevan Howard's Abu Dhabi office has grown to roughly 90 employees, up from about 50 in September 2023, according to eFinancialCareers, adding around 50 people in seven months.
- • The Abu Dhabi team manages $10bn of the hedge fund's $35bn in assets, and is led by MENA CEO Oualid Lashini.
- • Macro portfolio managers favor Abu Dhabi because its time zone lets traders access Asian markets early in the day and US markets at the end of it.
- • The expansion comes alongside global pruning: about 100 people were cut in April 2024, including 20 portfolio managers, and around 24 traders in March.
- • Brevan Howard launched its first summer internship program in Abu Dhabi, offering around ten places for students already living and working in the region.
Summary
Hedge fund Brevan Howard's Abu Dhabi office has grown to about 90 employees nearly 15 months after the firm announced it was opening an office in the UAE capital, according to eFinancialCareers. Headcount was around 50 in September 2023, implying roughly five hires a month since a Bloomberg report in March put the office at 80 people.
The Abu Dhabi staff includes portfolio managers, marketing professionals, salespeople, operations staff and technologists. The office manages $10bn of the firm's $35bn in assets. It is run by Oualid Lashini, Brevan Howard's MENA CEO. Other local portfolio managers named by Bloomberg include Ville Helske, Louis Basger, Paul Shanta and Peter Meiklejohn, while Hong Kong-based Kaspar Ernst and Singapore-based Minal Bathwal are said to visit regularly. Brevan Howard declined to comment for the article. eFinancialCareers understands that macro portfolio managers prefer Abu Dhabi because it straddles Asian and American time zones, allowing traders to access Asian markets at the start of the day and US markets at the end without working extra hours.
The Abu Dhabi growth contrasts with the firm's global headcount trajectory. According to eFinancialCareers, Brevan Howard's global headcount rose from 150 in 2019 to 1,100 in April 2024. The firm has also pruned underperformers, cutting 100 people in April 2024, including 20 portfolio managers particularly in systematic macro, and around 24 traders in March. It is not clear whether any of the 2024 layoffs affected the Abu Dhabi office.
The firm is signalling further expansion in the emirate through its first summer internship program in Abu Dhabi, which offers around ten places to students already living and working in the region.
The Abu Dhabi staff includes portfolio managers, marketing professionals, salespeople, operations staff and technologists. The office manages $10bn of the firm's $35bn in assets. It is run by Oualid Lashini, Brevan Howard's MENA CEO. Other local portfolio managers named by Bloomberg include Ville Helske, Louis Basger, Paul Shanta and Peter Meiklejohn, while Hong Kong-based Kaspar Ernst and Singapore-based Minal Bathwal are said to visit regularly. Brevan Howard declined to comment for the article. eFinancialCareers understands that macro portfolio managers prefer Abu Dhabi because it straddles Asian and American time zones, allowing traders to access Asian markets at the start of the day and US markets at the end without working extra hours.
The Abu Dhabi growth contrasts with the firm's global headcount trajectory. According to eFinancialCareers, Brevan Howard's global headcount rose from 150 in 2019 to 1,100 in April 2024. The firm has also pruned underperformers, cutting 100 people in April 2024, including 20 portfolio managers particularly in systematic macro, and around 24 traders in March. It is not clear whether any of the 2024 layoffs affected the Abu Dhabi office.
The firm is signalling further expansion in the emirate through its first summer internship program in Abu Dhabi, which offers around ten places to students already living and working in the region.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.