The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has attracted several notable financial giants recently, taking the total number of wealth and asset management companies to over 300.
DIFC’s WAM firms represent an industry size of $450bn (£360bn, €412bn). More than 150 funds were domiciled in the centre by the end of 2022.
International Adviser reported that financial services giant Edmond de Rothschild Group and Holborn Assets received DFSA approval to open an advisory office in the DIFC. In March 2023, IA also exclusively revealed that St James’s Place has been given in-principle approval for an DFSA licence.
Some firms which joined the DIFC in 2022 included Nomura, Octogone Group, Continental Group International, Habib Bank, Alpadis Group and Finsbury Wealth.
Salmaan Jaffery, chief business development officer at DIFC Authority, said: “The $8trn of private wealth across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region provides wealth & asset management firms with a compelling reason to establish in the UAE, specifically in DIFC.”
“Significant new client names such as Edmond de Rothschild, EnTrust Global, Nomura Singapore and The Family Office Company highlight that DIFC is Mesea’s location of choice for wealth and asset management. We are proud of our strong track record in attracting some of the world’s largest wealth & asset management companies – a cluster which now exceeds 300 firms.”
