“Invest AD” will be the new brand name of the Abu Dhabi Investment Company, a state-owned investment agency.

The new name is part of its strategy to attract institutional investors to investment opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), a region where the company has been investing for over three decades, said a statement.

Invest AD simultaneously announced four new equities funds, adding to existing private equity and infrastructure funds.

Created in 1977, originally to invest on behalf of the Abu Dhabi authorities, the company is now inviting institutional investors around the world to invest alongside the Abu Dhabi government.

Invest AD is a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. After operating for three decades as an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, the company recently expanded its activities by offering investment opportunities to institutional investors, including companies, pension funds, wealth managers, banks, insurance companies, investment platforms and other governments around the world.

Currently, Invest AD’s activities include fund management (asset management, private equity, infrastructure and real estate), brokerage (through the NFBC subsidiary), investment banking (advisory) and management of proprietary assets on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government.

“The region is often regarded purely as a source of capital. In fact, phenomenal investment opportunity can be found right here,” said Invest AD chairman Khalifa M Al Kindi. “Mena should increasingly become a destination for capital to be deployed by astute fund managers.”

“This region’s economy is diversifying and has the advantage of a young growing population,” added Al Kindi, who is also the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council and a director of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

“Governments are pushing through reforms to unleash markets, removing bottlenecks to international trade, investing in infrastructure, and opening up new areas of growth,” he said.

The new brand, “Invest AD”, was chosen as a simple and fresh version of the company’s formal name. The use of “AD” and the sails in the new logo reflect the company’s roots in Abu Dhabi.

“The name is a call to action,” said Invest AD chief executive, Nazem Fawwaz Al Kudsi.  “Most international portfolios are underweight in this region. We want to play our part in rectifying that. We also want to encourage local investors to focus on opportunities in their backyard.”

Invest AD simultaneously announced four new equities funds that will provide institutional investors with access to regional investment opportunities: A GCC equities fund; a UAE (United Arab Emirates) fund; a Middle East and North Africa equity fund; and an Emerging Africa fund. – TradeArabia News Service