Top Abu Dhabi quant declares he feels "fortunate" to be there now

For all the upheaval in the Middle East, one person there has no worries. Marcos Lopez de Prado, the head of quantitative R&D at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), says he feels "fortunate" to be there now and that the UAE's leadership is thoughtful and well-prepared.

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De Prado is the global head of quantitative R&D in ADIA's "Team Q" and a former head of quantitative research at Tudor. He moved to Abu Dhabi in 2022 as a founding member of the ADIA Lab and has helped build the team from 50 to 150 people.

Writing on LinkedIn, De Prado said his thankfulness comes from seeing how "calmly and effectively things continue to function here," as "daily life goes on with only minimal disruption," despite "a very uncertain regional environment." This is, "clearly the result of years of careful preparation and thoughtful leadership," he enthused. 

One person died and seven were injured in a strike on Abu Dhabi's Zayed airport on Sunday. Yesterday, six people were reportedly hit by debris from falling drones that had been shot down. There are reports today that British people in Abu Dhabi have been issued with a warning to take shelter.  These have not been confirmed. Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that authorities in Dubai were threatening to take legal action against people posting fake claims about bomb strikes.

Lopez de Prado's uplifting post inspired various colleagues to express similar sentiments. "I concur. Well said!" said Alexander Lipton, ADIA's global head of quantitative research and development. "Completely agree," said Daniel Nehren, the former head of global cash equities e-trading at Citi in London, who moved to become the global head of quant research and development at ADIA in 2022. Bernd Scherer, ADIA's head of portfolio implementation, complimented Lopez de Prado and declared, "Abu Dhabi is safe. Arguing any different is a sign of distorted probability assessment."

It's not clear whether war in the Middle East will affect ADIA's investment strategy. Writing yesterday, the Financial Times quoted an unnamed Gulf official who said the war could encourage Gulf countries to review overseas investments as they increase defence spending and face declining income from tourism and energy sales. 

With Abu Dhabi under fire, it's thought that ADIA employees are working from home. A spokesperson for ADIA declined to comment on the guidance the fund has provided to its staff.

Speaking off the record, one ADIA quant told us "the show must go on" at ADIA. Another insider accused Lopez de Prado of emitting "misleading signals" and "kissing the ring." 

"Well said and thank you for this post," said Saeed Al Mansouri, ADIA's deputy director, writing beneath Lopez de Prado's thoughts. 

As we observed last year, working for ADIA can be lucrative. Even technologists at Team Q are on $500k tax free salaries. Top quants there are thought to earn salaries alone of $3m or more. Pay grades were accidentally revealed when someone left a sheet in the ADIA printing room. 
 

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