Written by Gérard Al-Fil

Pimco has entered into a partnership with Aditum Investment Management Limited to expand its high-net-worth client base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
From its base in Dubai’s financial hub, the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre), Aditum will make two of Pimco’s income strategies accessible to wealthy investors in the Gulf nation via Aditum feeder funds, Pimco announced on its website.

The name’s Bond, UAE Bond

Aditum has launched two feeder funds under its Global Access ICC fund platform: the PIMCO GIS Income Fund Open Ended IC Plc and the PIMCO Balanced Income and Growth Fund Open Ended IC Plc. These will invest in Pimco’s underlying Income and Balanced Income & Growth strategies, respectively.

Ryan Blute, Managing Director and Head of Pimco’s Global Wealth Management business in EMEA, said: «Our new partnership with Aditum reinforces our commitment to delivering tailored investment solutions for wealth investors in the UAE, accessible through locally registered vehicles via the newly established Aditum funds.»

The UAE’s outstanding bonds and Islamic bonds (also known as sukuk) rose to $309.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking an 8.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to Fitch Ratings.

Separate Ways, Joint Marketing

Pimco has been based in the DIFC since February 2025 under its division, Pimco Europe GmbH. However, as a  registered «Non-DIFC Company», it does not hold a financial licence and therefore cannot independently market financial products. Through the partnership, it is using Aditum as a distribution channel.

According to the register of the DFSA—the regulatory authority supervising the DIFC—Aditum Investment Management Limited was founded in September 2018.

Business partnerships in the Gulf’s financial sector have become increasingly popular due to the region’s highly competitive environment.

• In March, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, and America’s leading asset manager, BlackRock, announced the launch of a new platform for alternative private investments.
• Also in March, First Abu Dhabi Bank teamed up with Microsoft. The UAE’s largest bank and the software giant will jointly develop and deploy AI-driven banking services.
• In December 2024, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) entered into a partnership with Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency trading platform. The collaboration aims to offer DIB’s Sharia-compliant products to a broad customer base via Crypto.com’s platform that is also available on the smartphone.