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ADGM-based Neovision Wealth Management has taken over the management of The Residential REIT from Equitativa (AD)
The REIT was launched nine years ago and was the first in the UAE to focus on residential assets, owning and running high-end properties in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
As of earlier this month, it is managed by Neovision, a funds as a service provider, or management company, to asset managers, serving GCC family offices, institutions and professional and retail investors.
Equitativa Group consists of ADGM-regulated Equitativa (AD), which was the manager of The Residential REIT. A separate DIFC-regulated entity Equitativa Dubai manages commercial and office-focused Emirates REIT.
The Residential REIT is structured for professional and institutional investors, incorporated and regulated in ADGM.
While Emirates REIT is Nasdaq Dubai-listed, The Residential REIT is privately held by GCC sovereign subsidiaries in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Equitativa said while there is some overlap in leadership across the entities in the group, there is no direct connection or operational impact between the two REITs.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is also a shareholder, but said it was unable to comment on the reasons for the change in manager at this time.
Neovision was co-founded in 2022 by CEO Dr Ryan Lemand. The company functions as a management company (ManCo), and previously established a $250 million certified carbon credit fund, and also launched and manages tokenised fund Realize T-Bills to buy BlackRock iShares and State Street SDPR.
Equitativa (AD) Limited has not disclosed the reason behind the management change, but said in a statement to Zawya it had started an extensive divestment from the Residential REIT in 2022 as UAE residential asset prices had increased, selling more than 400 residential units at a significant premium to the book value, reducing the debt level from a peak of 54% to 34% in 2024.
The statement said Equitativa (AD) Limited is in the process of transferring the fund with the remaining units and is no longer managing the Residential REIT.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
