Counsel, Allen & Overy

Kamar Jaffer is a counsel in Allen & Overy’s Middle East Funds and Asset Management Group with 15 years of experience. She helps clients structure and establish investment funds including Shari’a compliant funds. She acts for fund managers, SWFs, institutional investors, family offices and corporates on fund establishment and investment into funds across a range of asset classes including private equity, venture capital, technology, infrastructure and real estate. Her funds experience is complemented by her transactional experience on co-investments, cross-border M&A and joint ventures.

Prior to joining A&O, Kamar was Head of Legal, MENA & Turkey at PineBridge Investments, a global multi-asset class manager, providing cross-jurisdictional legal advice on private equity, real estate and distribution of financial products. This in-house experience has provided her with unique and first hand perspective on the structuring, regulatory aspects, marketing and closing of investment funds (including negotiations with key investors) and co-investments. Prior to moving to the Middle East, Kamar worked for a global law firm in London.

Kamar is passionate about emerging markets and has, with senior industry executives, led podcasts exploring reinvigorating the MENA economy by focusing on mid-caps and SMEs and the role of private equity in emerging markets. She has also edited publications including Euromoney’s “Investing in Emerging and Frontier Markets”.

Kamar is a member of A&O’s Middle East Diversity & Inclusion Committee and leads the gender initiative.