Former Credit Suisse star trader Hamza Lemssouguer is preparing to expand his hedge fund operations to Abu Dhabi, joining the rush of peers opening offices in the United Arab Emirates.
Arini, which oversees about $9 billion in assets, intends to have the outpost ready in September and has sought regulatory approvals, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
The Abu Dhabi operation will be run by Jeysson Abergel, Arini’s London-based head of trading, and will be staffed with existing investment and non-investment professionals who are relocating, one of the people said.
Representatives for Arini and ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s financial freezone, declined to comment.
London-based Arini is the latest hedge fund to join a growing number of investment outfits making a beeline for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE’s tax-free status, deep-pocketed sovereign wealth funds and favorable time zones have helped the two emirates transform into an emerging hub for hedge funds.
While multistrategy hedge funds have the biggest footprint in the UAE, Arini’s expansion adds to the diversity of asset managers moving to the region.
Lemssouguer, 34, made a name for himself at Credit Suisse with stellar returns from high conviction bets on high-yield debt and credit default swaps. During his time at the Swiss lender, the Moroccan-born trader generated a gross annualized return of 38%, including 81% in 2019 and 44% in 2020, Bloomberg News has reported.
Arini — named after the parrots Lemssouguer breeds — generated 5.4% return in May to boost year-to-date gains in its Credit Master Fund to almost 10%, the person added. Credit hedge funds tracked by Bloomberg were up 1.4% during the first four months of the year.
| Returns (%) | 2025* | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arini Credit Master Fund | 10% | 22.2 | 25.8 | 4 |
| *through May |
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