Young investors in the UAE are turning to traditional safe-haven assets to shield their investments from growing global economic uncertainty and are using financial apps to do so.
Twenty-somethings are shifting more of their investments to gold, which on Monday recorded its strongest weekly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis. It has since dipped.
While a number of Gen Z investors in the UAE are already active in financial markets, they are entering at a younger age than their predecessors. According to a World Economic Forum survey, 30 per cent of Gen Z around the world began investing while at university or in early adulthood, compared with 9 per cent of Generation X and 6 per cent of baby boomers.
In the UAE, that shift has been shown in behaviour, as well as access. The same survey found that 73 per cent of investors in the country review and adjust their portfolios at least once a month, compared with the global average of 52 per cent.
Their participation raises a broader question: are they more financially savvy than previous generations, or are they simply benefitting from easier access to investing?
For many younger investors, the shift is less about timing markets and more about access. Digital platforms such as Baraka and Sarwa have lowered barriers that once kept investing out of reach, allowing users to start with small sums and build diversified portfolios through their phones.
The WEF survey also found that 23 per cent of Gen Z and millennial investors seek investment guidance on social media, while 37 per cent turn to friends or family. That shows informal digital channels now play an increasing role in how younger people learn about investing.
What once required a broker and significant upfront capital can now be done in seconds, making investing more accessible for first-time participants.
From saving culture to first investments
Raghad Alaydarous, a 21-year-old Emirati human resources student at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, made her first gold investment in November after saving for about a year from her sponsorship stipend. She purchased a 20g gold bar, marking her first step into investing.
university student
“My mum always pushes us to save,” she said. “When I asked her why, she would say it is for a rainy day and to buy gold.”
She had also watched her sister buy gold between 2020 and 2021, when prices were lower, and later sell at a profit. “I saw how she invested and how she got her money back and more, so I wanted to try that,” she added.
To Ms Alaydarous, gold felt safer than equities. “Even if gold goes down, it tends to recover,” she said. “Companies can collapse at any moment, but gold feels more stable.”
Earlier access to money has helped make that first step possible. “People my age now have incomes earlier,” she added. “Almost everyone has some sort of income, either from part-time jobs or sponsorships.”
Tech lowers barrier to diversification
“Gold is one of the strongest defensive assets you can own,” said Raamiz Khan, 21, who views the precious metal as protection rather than a wager on price gains.
He grew up in Dubai and now studies at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He began investing a few months ago after researching markets while completing an internship at an asset management firm. He manages his portfolio through an app-based brokerage. “I use Trading 212, which is one of the more prominent ones in the UK and the western world,” he said.
university student
From the outset, he prioritised diversification over selecting individual stocks, adding gold-backed exchange-traded funds early on as a stabilising element. For Mr Khan, technology has made diversification practical rather than theoretical. “You just go on the app, search gold, and several gold-backed ETFs [exchange-traded funds] come up,” he said. “You can buy fractional shares and there is no big minimum buy-in.
“I wanted gold to absorb shocks when markets turned volatile. When I first got into it, gold was about five per cent of my portfolio because I wanted it to be a shock absorber.”
That ease of access, he added, has made investing common among his peers. “Everyone around me has portfolios,” he said. “They all try saving, whether it be for one reason or another.”
Risk appetite and easier market access
“I started investing when I turned 18,” said Hamzeh Abu Qamar, 23, who describes himself as a risk taker drawn to market volatility.
The Jordanian American, who has lived in the UAE for most of his life, began investing during the Covid pandemic after practising with paper trading. He has been actively investing for about five years and holds a mix of stocks, ETFs and crypto.
investor
“Stocks are more unpredictable and that is what attracts me,” he said. “You need foresight and you need to stay up to date with geopolitics, weather and anything that can affect markets.”
He has not invested in gold so far, but plans to add commodities gradually as a safety net. “Gold offers security,” he added, noting that some equities generate dividends while gold does not.
Technology, he said, has reshaped how his generation invests. “If you compare the 2010s to now, phones are a game changer,” he said. “Investing today is as easy as sending your friend a text.”
Social media has also played a role, although that has also brought risks. “Gen Z are more aware because of TikTok and Instagram,” he said. “But that also has a dark side because many people selling courses are scams.”
Learning about markets early
Rashed AlShamsi, 23, began investing during the Covid stock market sell-off in 2020 and 2021. He approached markets cautiously after growing up around negative experiences with stocks.
“When all stocks went down during Covid, I said, ‘Why not try?’” he said. “I did not have obligations, and my salary was minimal.”
Mr AShamsi, an Emirati business analyst at Efficio, focused on UAE-listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market, which felt more familiar and easier to monitor. He avoided crypto, which he described as unclear.
Some early trades later declined sharply. “Some stocks went down 50 or 60 per cent,” he said. “It was sad to see, but it was a lesson that I learnt early.”
Those losses reshaped his approach. He now prioritises companies he understands and follows closely. Inflation has also influenced how he views savings. “I am very against keeping money in a savings account because inflation happens,” he said.
Why do young people invest earlier?
Market professionals say the trend reflects both opportunity and pressure.
Martin Hennecke, head of investment advisory at St James’s Place for Asia and the Middle East, said there were major incentives for younger people to invest. “There are several strong reasons for younger people to start investing earlier, most notably the compounding effect, which has far more time to work in their favour."
Inflation, he added, has increased the cost of holding cash. “Long-term investing can help protect savings from the gradual erosion of value over time.”
While easier access has lowered barriers to entry, Mr Hennecke cautioned against chasing trends, noting that diversified, long-term strategies were essential for lasting financial security. He said gold had attracted growing interest among younger investors because of its long history as a “store of value”.
He added that broader economic uncertainty and geopolitical risks were also part of gold’s appeal, but warned that allocating to the metal for short-term speculation could increase risk.
