LONDON: Brevan Howard's founder Alan Howard said the hedge fund now has 150 employees in Abu Dhabi and is committed to staying for the long term, he told attendees at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Monday.

The British financier said the only thing he would improve about the location is that he would add more office space.

"We've run out and we have a wait-list of people that want to come here, so we're going to need to take more space," he told conference attendees. The hedge fund manager opened the Abu Dhabi location in 2023 with five people, he said.

In August, Abu Dhabi alternative investment manager Lunate took a minority stake in Brevan Howard.

The two firms said in a statement they would set up an investment platform based in Abu Dhabi, offering new funds, with an initial commitment of $2 billion by Lunate, and that more capital will be raised from local and international investors "over time".

Howard said he no longer saw Brevan Howard as a pure hedge fund investing in macro-economic trades but more of an alternative asset manager, given its broader interest, particularly in digital assets infrastructure. (Reporting by Nell Mackenzie; Editing by Christopher Cushing)