Abu Dhabi Investment Authority or ADIA, as it is popularly known, welcomed us at its Abu
Dhabi headquarters by providing access to a panel of the fund’s seasoned
professionals as well as promising young talent. ADIA is one of the largest and
most sophisticated Sovereign Wealth Funds in the world and the discussion we
had with various members of its team was illuminating.
The story of ADIA is 40 years old and the
individuals we met shared their individual stories with us. A common theme was how fortunate they felt to
be part of ADIA. Established in 1976, the fund is independent from the
government and responsible for investing to secure the long term prosperity of
Abu Dhabi. It does so in a prudent, effective and innovative manner through a
team of approximately 1700 hailing from as many countries the fund has invested
in.
ADIA takes a long-term approach to investing and
has, over the years, built its internal capacity and capability, while also
building long-term relationships with major financial institutions all over the
world. Today the fund carefully prepares the next generation of its Emirati employees
by identifying and developing potential employees from high school, providing
scholarships and training.
ADIA’s expatriate workers are drawn from more than
60 countries. The fund cites its diversity of nationalities and skills as a key
strength. A number of employees we meet
describe adapting to living in a new country as relatively easy: “They make the
transition easy for you,” we hear often, while people also point out that Abu
Dhabi is considered very family-orientated.
Leaving the meeting, we were convinced that ADIA continues
to follow the mission it was created for in 1976 and stands for something more
than a typical investment fund.
~ Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva, second year Middle East Studies concentrator, SAIS
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