The Canadian asset manager will provide equities, real estate, infrastructure, and private credit services.
Fiera Capital has opened an office in Abu Dhabi, part of the asset manager’s plans to grow in the Middle East, an announcement sent by the company on Thursday indicates. finews.ch (German only) recently reported it opened an office in Switzerland intended to serve as a hub for the intermediary business in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region as well as institutional clients in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The office in Abu Dhabi will be co-managed by Paul Doyle, a Fiera Capital executive, and Xavier Zawisza, who joins the asset manager from an investment bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both have extensive regional fund-raising expertise related to advising large institutional investors.
Middle East Initiatives
The institution will prioritize services related to its Middle East initiatives, among them global and locally based (MENA) equities, as well as real estate, infrastructure, natural capital, and indirect exposure to private debt instruments.
This also reflects the fact that numerous wealth and asset managers are moving or expanding operations in the Middle East, something that finews.asia has commented on at length. As an example, data from the Global Private Capital Association (GPCA), also released Thursday, indicates that cross-border investment between the Middle East and Asia is «soaring» According to them private capital deal value has risen six-fold since 2020 and now stands at $89 billion.
Already Gulf Investor
When it comes to Fiera, both Doyle and Zawisza will be responsible for growing its established investor base as it is already an investor in the Gulf region with its Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets investment strategies.
«Our offering in the Middle East will replicate the bedrock on which Fiera Capital’s success has been built; a philosophy of investing in quality over long-term horizons in the absolute pursuit of steady and financially sustainable alpha,» Klaus Schuster, CEO of Fiera Capital EMEA indicated in the media release. He further indicated that the asset manager’s strategic focus in the Gulf will be based on «enduring ties» with institutional investors across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Headquartered in Montreal
«Leveraging the strong relationships we’ve forged with sovereign wealth funds, family offices, pension funds, and major listed corporates in the region, we’re taking the next logical step in our expansion,» Schuster maintained. According to him, a wide range of investors have a «growing preference» for multi-asset portfolio solutions in public and private markets that can be tailored to meet specific asset allocation criteria.
Founded in 2003 by current chairman and CEO Jean-Guy Desjardins, Fiera Capital is headquartered in Montreal and listed in Toronto. It is one of the largest asset managers in Canada, with $122 billion in assets under management
