Apex Abu Dhabi to gain domicile license

The firm will be the first administrator licensed to oversee Abu Dhabi regulated funds.

Apex Fund Services, a global fund administrator, has received approval ‘in principle’ to carry out regulated activity from the Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Apex will be the first fund services firm licensed to administrate collective investment funds regulated by the ADGM regime in Abu Dhabi.

The license is expected to be granted within a few weeks.

“The securing of the license is really a vote of confidence by Apex in the future of the ADGM as a fund domicile. We believe it will be an attractive domicile for managers, the regulations are well written and the regulator, the FSRA is very proactive,” Glyn Gibson, head of business development at Apex in Middle East and North Africa, told pfm.

The ADGM comprises Abu Dhabi’s three financial, legal and regulatory bodies, the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and ADGM Courts.

The firm opened an Abu Dhabi office in 2012, originally to support their clients in the region with Cayman and British Virgin Islands funds, where administrators were not mandated to be in the domicile.

The move follows the firm’s acquisition of Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services and secured new private equity backing from Genstar Capital earlier this month.

The firm also collaborated with Albilad Capital to offer fund services to Saudi Arabian funds in April.