Dubai registers 6% growth for wealth and asset management firms
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has hit the landmark of 200 firms in the wealth and asset management sector that had chosen to be based in the centre, a 6% rise from the halfway point last year.
DIFC is home to the regional headquarters of 13 of the world’s top 25 wealth and asset managers, with Fidelity International recently joining the Centre. Registered as FIL Distributors International Limited, Fidelity International has been licensed by DFSA and will manage its asset management business in the Middle East and South Africa from the DIFC,
The number of financial funds under management by DIFC entities has leapt by 240 percent in the same period, from 25 to the latest figure of 60, making it the largest funds domicile in the region, the DIFC said in a statement.
“The wealth and asset management sector is a cornerstone of a thriving financial services industry, and 
as DIFC has developed into a top global financial centre, it has become one of our hallmarks. Major financial institutions see Dubai and DIFC as a preferred platform to access investment opportunities and sources of investment across regional and global markets,” said Arif Amiri (pictured), chief executive of the DIFC Authority.
The DIFC is committed to a ten-year strategy of trebling in size by 2024 in terms of the number of member firms and employees as well as the value of assets under management.
In a bid to attract more firms, the centre enacted two new laws in March: the Trust Law, which provides an appropriate environment for the operation of trusts in DIFC, and the Foundations Law, a new regime to provide greater certainty and flexibility for private wealth management and charitable institutions in line with international best practice.
In the first half of 2018, the DIFC attracted three of the biggest names in global finance, Chinese firm Everbright Group and American giants State Street Global Advisers and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance.
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