Nuveen, a US-based investment manager, anticipates doubling its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East to $6 billion-$10 billion within the next three years. This growth follows the opening of their first regional office in Abu Dhabi last year.
As a $1.3 trillion asset management firm owned by TIAA (the US teachers pension fund), Nuveen is active in both private and public markets. According to Fadi Khoury, Nuveen’s Head of Middle East, alternative credit is a primary focus for the firm in the region. They are developing capabilities across three main strategies: private credit (especially direct lending), energy infrastructure credit, and real estate debt. Real estate debt and asset-backed lending are also important, though smaller, components of their platform.
Nuveen is pursuing partnerships with regional institutional investors, including a sovereign wealth fund from the GCC that is focused on alternative credit. Khoury highlighted Nuveen’s unique position as both an asset manager and asset owner (through TIAA’s $350 billion general account), which allows them to understand and align with the long-term objectives of their partners.
Their presence in Abu Dhabi’s financial center provides access to substantial funds from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, family offices, and other financial institutions. Khoury noted a significant trend over the past decade: Middle Eastern institutional investors are increasing their allocations to private markets, with alternative credit emerging as a core allocation in recent years. Nuveen has already attracted interest from three institutional investors for its collateralized loan obligation (CLO) strategies, indicating a growing sophistication and mainstream acceptance of CLOs in the region.
While Nuveen’s energy infrastructure credit expertise has primarily been applied to projects in the US and Europe, with about 70% supporting renewable energy and digital infrastructure, they see strong potential for this area in the Middle East as regional projects become larger and more complex. However, they are not yet actively pursuing this strategy in the Middle East due to current platform and team limitations in the region.
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