The UAE’s growing population of millionaires and vast wealth pools have attracted wealth managers to Dubai, who are hoping to profit from the situation.
Over a dozen wealth and asset management (WAM) firms opened offices at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) last month, and there are more than 370 of them to date.
The DIFC announced that some of these businesses have their roots in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), while others have travelled from Asia Pacific, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Large pools of wealth embedded in sovereign funds, family offices and via ultra-high-net-worth individuals…continue to draw in the world’s investment managers ranging from traditional to alternative managers,” Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority said.
According to the DIFC, the financial hub’s impressive performance has also made it a “highly competitive choice” for wealth management companies hoping to capitalise on Dubai’s reputation as the city in the region with the highest concentration of wealth.
According to a recent report by Henley and Partners in association with New World Wealth, over 72,500 people residing in Dubai possess liquid investable wealth valued at USD 1 million or more. In addition, there are 15 billionaires and 212 centimillionaires in the city, or those with $100 million or more.
Middle Eastern state-owned investors oversee USD 4.7 trillion in capital, with Dubai alone having three times as many millionaires as any other city in the region, according to the DIFC.
As of April 2024, the following wealth management companies will be operating in the DIFC: Audere Capital Limited, Banca Del Sempione Ltd, Blue Owl Capital (Dubai) Limited, Capital Asset Management (DIFC) Limited, 24 Capital Management Ltd, El Dorado Capital Limited, GID Investment Advisors LLC, Hayfin, Novia Global Limited, Ominvest Capital (DIFC) Limited, Patient Square Capital (DIFC) Limited, Point72 (DIFC), Taula Capital Management (DIFC) Limited and Theia Investments Limited.