Who owns Aucta?

We are family owned & managed. Consequently, we are free to make long term decisions for the benefit of our clients. Additionally, our family’s wealth & reputation is inextricably linked to our performance ‘on the field’ which we believe provides exemplary alignment with our clients & partners.

And your culture?

We are not a lifestyle business. We act commercially for mutual benefit with professional courtesy. We love meeting people and sharing stories & work hard to set our fees at a level which balances expertise & affordability. Our business thrives upon helping financial professionals, often from unconventional backgrounds & origins, to succeed. Consequently we offer a warm open-minded welcome to all those brave enough to start an asset management firm.

Why do you focus on emerging fund managers?

The sense of achievement gained from helping a fund founder successfully travel from idea to viable business is hard to match. And then, a quick trip down memory lane; in 2004, I created an asset management firm from scratch. The lack of capital, support programmes & performance coaching at the time slowed our progress substantially & I vowed then to create a 360 degree support solution to help others avoid many of the same mistakes I made.

How do you define an emerging fund manager?

A pre-launch or early stage founder led asset management firm operating in the public or private markets. Likely launching it’s 1st or 2nd co-invest or co-mingled solution to professional investors. We also welcome conversations with founders who are a few years into their journey, managing modest sums and now ready to scale up.

I see you operate 2 brands; Aucta & Qahwa, tell me more?

Aucta is the latin word for growth which, apart from being short & memorable, we think signifies everything we stand for & aim to deliver for our clients. You’ll see the Aucta brand facing all our emerging fund manager activity. For all of you caffeine addicts, Qahwa means coffee in Arabic. Rooted in the culture here is the idea of togetherness, sharing & community built over the serving & enjoyment of coffee. We use this brand facing our own investors as we bring them together into our co-investment, deal sharing circle.

Where are you based?

We have offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We are a globally remote firm.

What do you do?

For those RAISING capital we offer 2 solutions:

  • Accelerator - a 12 week structured programme for emerging fund managers with all graduates offered seed and staking capital.

  • Advisory - a program of brand building, market entry & LinkedIn investor connections

For those INVESTING we offer a co-invest platform for professionally accredited investors seeking early stage access to a vetted & curated pipeline of world class fund management firms

How do I know you & your investor network wants my fund?

When you apply for our accelerator programme we take great care to learn about your team and strategy. If we feel that tastes and appetites are unlikely to favour your firm we will let you know.

I’m a seasoned pro, why do I need an accelerator?

We understand that you bring decades of experience to your new firm - for that reason we don’t offer basic incubation of the type suitable for recent graduates. Instead, we have structured our programme to provide actionable support in the areas most fund management pros lack muscle memory; distribution, sales and marketing plus operational organisation.

How are you different than other capital raising/placement firms?

  • We operate an accelerator for emerging funds with all graduates offered capital from our own pool

  • We’re family owned

  • We’ve walked in the shoes of both our clients and investors having established, managed, built & sold asset management firms

  • There’s well over 30 years of capital raising experience here

  • We’re cost effective for early stage firms

  • We’re Middle East specialists

What % of your accelerator cohorts do you expect to graduate?

Our expectation is that 75% will graduate. Those who don’t quite make it will still be offered a financially valuable package alongside the tools, skills & peers developed during the 12 week program.

What do you look for most in a founder?

Recognition that a successful asset management firm is an operationally excellent distribution machine. The pursuit of investment performance alone, whilst worthy, will not catalyse asset gathering. We seek to work with founders who desire to pursue personal brand led strategies to build a profitable & durable business despite the ebb & flow of alpha generated from their investment team.

And, what are the warning bells when you meet a fund founder?

A conversation where the founder leads with performance, fees or risk may not last very long. Similarly, folks who share slides or long pitch decks at the start of a conversation are unlikely to fit well with our approach. Seeing a cost base that has less than 65% of live or projected total overhead devoted to sales & marketing is an immediate red flag.

Is the programme competitive; with participants exited week to week?

No. We make no secret of how hard it is to be accepted on our cohorts given the sheer volume of applications we receive. But once you’re in, we do not pit you against your peers, on the contrary our groups are supportive, sharing and look out for each other.

Is the accelerator programme remote or live & how much time should I devote?

The entire 12 week phase is held remotely via zoom & google-meet links. Graduation and demo day is held ‘live’ in the heart of downtown Dubai, UAE (apart from July when temperatures here hit 130F). Each week there is a group call and every 10 days 1on1 coaching with our team. Along with the self directed work we set, please budget for c10 hours per week.

How many accelerator cohorts & seats do you offer?

To maintain service standards, we curate 4 cohorts per year, each with 20 individual seats. Competition for those seats is significant and we advise applying early via the link on our homepage.

I’m based outside the Middle East, can I still join the accelerator?

We welcome applications from founders located in any of the G20 member countries. It is important to note that graduates must commit & contract to establishing a presence in UAE. These UAE footprints can sit alongside your people, entities & structures located elsewhere.

What are the minimum UAE footprints I must make to be successful?

4 things are essential: A local banked entity serving as a ‘rep’ office, a locally based distribution/IR person, an intern programme between UAE and your home country, charitable/educational/NFP involvement. Alongside these, be willing to be noisy on LinkedIn & on TV & radio about your plans and activities in region. When it comes to fund & mandate structuring, we provide specific advice on the programme.

What topics do you cover in the accelerator program?

Across 6 phases and 12 weeks:

Phase 1: Your story, narrative & marketing content

Phase 2: Specifying your fund/strategy, fees, terms, location, set up

Phase 3: Talent, organisation & operations

Phase 4: Performance coaching, sales & marketing

Phase 5: LinkedIn Masterclass

Phase 6: Negotiating, presenting, demos & graduation

Do I have to participate in the full program to graduate?

The majority of applicants are seasoned asset management professionals with decades of technical experience. We have designed the topics covered to be appropriate for senior professionals whilst recognising that many have not had a background in sales, marketing & distribution. Similarly, those transferring from large brands may not have been directly involved in operational or organisational matters. Consequently, we require all participants to complete the program in full to be considered for graduation.

What happens at a demo and graduation retreat in UAE?

Day 1 is action packed with each participant delivering a carefully prepared live & timed demo to the group & guests simulating the exact story narrative that they will use daily as they grow their firms. We have special guests stopping by for fireside chats with the Aucta team on mission critical topics. In the evening, we invite many of the UAE’s most influential professionals, investors & decision makers to join us for drinks providing all participants with a network that would otherwise take years to achieve.

Day 2 is a reward for all of us, time to let our hair down, we take all participants to experience some of the best authentic experiences in the UAE.

What topics do you cover in your advisory solution?

We help firms with their sales, marketing, organisation, operations, software selection, web builds, LinkedIn strategy, podcasts, photo-shoots, talent hiring & firing, digital marketing documents, budgets, fund design & jurisdiction. Many clients also bring problems requiring resolution.

Tell me about the entity you deploy capital from?

We have established a co-investment entity in the prestigious & well regulated financial centre called Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) which operates in English common law. It is called Qahwa Holdings. You can search the public register for further details at www.adgm.com

What about the terms & conditions around the capital you deploy?

Seeding fund managers with operational capital (GP stakes) involves you issuing a non-dilutive convertible loan note (CLN) in return for our funds. These notes will have a 3 year term, a serviced coupon & a conversion discount. LP seeding is carried out at most favoured nation terms where we require the fees paid on the allocation to be at, or better than, any other fee offered to any other investor.

Which asset classes & sectors do you focus on?

We work with emerging fund managers in both private & public markets and across all asset classes. We also sometimes support fintechs that are innovating the asset management ecosystem.

What do your clients find most challenging about working in the Middle East?

Suitcase based selling & western marketing collateral & sales techniques simply don’t work well here. Instead, lots of LinkedIn (social proof), tightly worded 1 pagers, press coverage (more social proof) & in-person availability are all needed here.

Tell me about the investors you work with?

  • Emerging fund institutional investors

  • ‘Super Angel’ private, family office & fund of fund investors

How much capital do you deploy to accelerator graduates?

We make 7 figure seed (LP) & (GP balance sheet) commitments to graduating emerging fund managers.

How much does it cost to join an accelerator cohort?

At the time of writing there is a one-off participation fee of GBP15.5k + VAT (5%). Please note that we will be increasing the fee in April 2025. There are no other fees or charges payable to us throughout the programme. Please note that your travel & associated costs to the region are not included.