It comes just weeks after the firm opened a new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) where it also gained a licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
The DFSA licence is in addition to its long-standing licence as a brokerage firm from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Insurance Authority, which allows it to provide advice to clients across the country and access the products of international life companies regulated by the Abu Dhabi-headquartered authority.
AES International said it is the first independent financial planning firm of its type to “deliver fully chartered services” to expats in the MENA region.
The firm added that it has committed to having 75% of its advisers holding Chartered Financial Planner status by 2017.
Just 5% of UK firms have qualified for the profession’s ‘Gold Standard’, according to AES.
AES chief executive Sam Instone, said the chartered status is yet “another milestone” for achieving the firm’s mission to “disrupt the status quo of traditional expat investing”.
“We believe that international investors deserve better and we are committed to providing them with a flexible and transparent service,” he said.
Rory Gilbert, managing director of the Middle East branch, said: “We have always believed that international investors require assurances that their hard-earned cash is well managed in safe hands; we are delighted to have received the highest level recognition from the UK CII, which we believe provides customers with further evidence of our integrity and excellent capabilities.”
