ADS Securities, a new Abu Dhabi-based brokerage, is eyeing a share of the rapidly growing trade in commodities and foreign exchange by bridging the time gap between Asian and European markets, its top executive said.
The firm, backed by private investors and capitalised at $400 million, is aiming to take advantage of the local time zone with its presence in Abu Dhabi and its proximity to large sovereign wealth funds and institutions in the oil-rich region.
"When you look at where we are situated, we are open here and there is no body to serve (investors). That's where the opportunity is and hence the decision to operate out of Abu Dhabi," Mahmood Ebraheem Al Mahmood, ADS's chairman, told Reuters.
Mahmood, who previously headed the internal alternative investment team at sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is also chief executive of the brokerage's parent ADS Holding.
The brokerage is a market maker in foreign exchange, Mahmood said, adding ADS aimed to begin trading in commodities such as oil and precious metals this year. The firm is targeting institutions - as opposed to retail investors -- including some of the world's largest sovereign funds, pension funds and corporates who have hedging requirements in currencies and commodities.