Family offices mushroom in the UAE as tax benefits and pro-crypto policies draw wealthy

Emirates offers abundant talent to hire in terms of investment advisers, lawyers and wealth structuring experts

Kingsley Advani, left, and Shalini Wood are millionaires who moved to the UAE from the UK and Netherlands, respectively. Victor Besa / The National

British tech entrepreneur and serial investor Kingsley Advani was among many millionaires who left the UK 10 years ago because of “poor governance, a poor tax regime and a weak business environment”.

He is now based in Dubai and runs the Advani family office that manages his wealth and investments. The millionaire also runs a co-investing platform for other family offices.

A family office is a private wealth management firm that provides financial services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and families. It features a dedicated team to manage their financial affairs, investments, tax and estate planning.

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“I was considering moving to Singapore in 2018 but the paperwork in the UAE is easier and more efficient,” Mr Advani says. "There's also a 10-year golden visa residency, which is one of the best in the world.

“There's been an exodus of family offices and millionaires from Singapore to the UAE because the Emirates is more pro-crypto. The speed of setting up entities is getting faster here, too.”

The UAE is expected to attract a record 9,800 relocating millionaires this year, drawn by regulatory reforms and a tax-free lifestyle, according to the Wealth Migration Report 2025 by advisory Henley & Partners and wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. In 2024, Dubai had an estimated 81,200 millionaires and 20 billionaires.

In contrast, the UK is set to lose 16,500 millionaires this year. This is the largest net outflow of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) by any country in the past 10 years, driven by sweeping tax reforms, the report said.

Factors drawing the rich

The influx of millionaires will accelerate as the UAE offers a friendly tax regime, good security, low crime rates and is family-friendly, Mr Advani explains.

“The UAE is pro-innovation, pro-business, and you're able to build a good family office here compared to other jurisdictions,” he says.

“If you look at building a family office in the US, it's going to cost you 10 times more. Since the UAE is in proximity to Asia, building a family office team is much more cost-effective here, because you can get very strong people from India who will work six, seven days a week, and the compensation is in a different category than the US.”

Arjun Mittal, founder of Abbey Road Investment Group, a Dubai-based multi-family office, says he predicted three years ago that the UAE would rival traditional wealth hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Geneva for capability and offerings.

“That has accelerated in the last three years and today you have incredible talent when it comes to investments, lawyers and wealth structuring. You also have great hedge fund talent coming to town and that creates a great ecosystem,” he says.

The UAE is becoming a magnet for the wealthy from Africa and parts of Europe, while South Asia and the subcontinent have always found Dubai and Abu Dhabi attractive, he says.

“We are also seeing a lot more inquiries from Singapore and Hong Kong for families thinking about relocating or redomiciling to the UAE. There is a lot of interest from wealthy families in the UK to redomicile to the UAE."

Shalini Wood, a millionaire who works in blockchain, says she moved to the UAE from the Netherlands with her family in 2023 as it was tax-free and the regulations in Europe were “not business-friendly and stifling innovation”. She rates the UAE’s global connectivity, quality of education and health care, lifestyle and infrastructure as “top notch”.

The Emirates is perfect for Ms Wood’s multicultural family since she is Indian and her husband is British.

Today you have incredible talent when it comes to investments, lawyers and wealth structuring. You also have great hedge fund talent coming to town

Arjun Mittal,
founder, Abbey Road Investment Group

“The UAE has created tailored regimes in the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Abu Dhabi Global Market that are helping businesses settle and flourish,” she says. "Whether it is frameworks, tax advantages, full foreign ownership, access to banking, political stability and residency within a few weeks, they've created a very compelling package for investors to move to the UAE.

“The government makes all processes smooth and easy. It's a no-brainer. Since moving to UAE, we are growing exponentially.”

Discreet, private networks

Ms Wood’s family manages most of their wealth and investments themselves. They work with “very discreet, private, low-key networks” to manage some assets and outsource data analysis, research and accounting to external advisers.

“We rely on them to understand what the best investments are, emerging sectors and find those low-hanging fruits,” she says.

Mr Mittal from Abbey Road says some wealthy families prefer to operate subtly, while others are more embracing of their success and happy for it to be known. In general, the mood in the region is more of subtlety, he adds.

For family offices, choosing to set up in the DIFC or ADGM depends on where they feel more comfortable, since there is little difference between the two in terms of operations and cost benefits, Mr Mittal states.

Watch: Dubai's millionaires double as London drops down wealth list

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Where do they invest?

The majority of wealthy families invest passively in exchange-traded funds that track public markets.

However, there has been a shift in allocation from wealthy families in the region who are keen on accessing private markets. This includes private credit, private equity, venture capital and private deal flow, Mr Mittal says.

“In the last year, we have started to advocate that families add crypto to their balance sheets in small allocations.”

Mr Advani agrees the next generation of the ultra-rich are investing more in high-risk assets, like Bitcoin, for higher returns. Hence more family offices are investing in the digital currency as well as private companies like SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic.

Ms Wood says her family mostly invest in new, emerging technology, like blockchain and artificial intelligence.

“Earlier, investors were more aligned with just profit-making, but now if I'm looking at an investment, I look at its global impact as well,” she adds.

Peer interaction

Rich families love to interact with their peer groups. There's a growth of private wealth clubs, particularly from the US and Europe, in the UAE, according to Mr Mittal.

Tobias Prestel, a Dubai resident, runs Prestel & Partner, a family office network that hosts conferences globally. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Tobias Prestel, a Dubai resident, runs Prestel & Partner, a family office network that hosts conferences globally. These events bring together private single family offices in places such as New York, Singapore, Dubai, London and Zurich. Attendees discuss topics ranging from investments and governance to personal matters.

“In the institutional world, say private banks, pension funds, asset managers, you can put these into categories and label them. In the private wealth world, each one is different: some look into establishing a family office," Mr Prestel says. "Others have had one for a long time and want to optimise it. Some are more interested in money and investments, others more in legacy, succession or other personal matters.”

Younger generations in wealthy families network more online but less in person. That is another reason why such physical gatherings are helpful, Mr Prestel says.

“About eight years ago, with the rise of venture capital, there was a strategic shift from the parents investing into real assets [real estate, company shares, etc] to the children’s new focus on start-ups, early-stage investing, venture capital, most likely with a tech theme,” he says.

“Nowadays, there are many 20 and 30-somethings who made large fortunes in the ‘new economy’.”

Who’s being hired?

People in strategy consulting are being hired by family offices from firms such as Bain & Company, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group, and so too are ex-military employees for chief-of-staff roles, according to Oscar Orellana-Hyder, co-founder of Dubai-based executive search firm Cordell Partners.

Those dealing with raising external capital are also sought after. There has been an increase in hiring for family offices externally from different regions and sectors, he says.

People in strategy consulting are being hired by family offices from firms like Bain & Company, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group, says Oscar Orellana-Hyder, co-founder of Dubai-based executive search firm Cordell Partners. Chris Whiteoak / The National

“Very often, family offices don't have HR or talent acquisition roles in-house, they don't have the structure or framework that multinational institutional businesses do,” Mr Orellana-Hyder says. "Hiring is mostly done through friends or family, but they are trying to change that now."

While salaries are not as good as in hedge funds, private funds or sovereign wealth funds, "work-life balance can be better with more exposure to the principal, who will potentially look after you in other ways, rather than just your pay cheque", he adds.

Zahra Clark, head of the Middle East and North Africa region for Tiger Recruitment, says her company is recruiting for a broad mix of roles for family offices in the UAE, including executive assistants, office managers, finance professionals and drivers.

Since last year, there has been a significant rise in family offices establishing themselves in the region and as a result many are now building their teams from the ground up.

“We are also seeing that some employers are open to candidates from London and we are actively relocating professionals from the UK at present," Ms Clark says.

Typically, executive assistant and finance salaries can range from Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 per month

Zahra Clark,
Tiger Recruitment

Interest in relocating to the UAE remains high. The only area where supply is limited is in personal assistant roles, particularly those requiring previous experience supporting UHNWIs, Ms Clark says.

“Salaries for family office staff can vary significantly depending on the position and level of responsibility. Typically, executive assistant and finance salaries can range from Dh30,000 [$8,168] to Dh50,000 per month,” she adds.

Ms Clark says what employers value most is relevant experience and the networks professionals develop over the course of their careers.

Mr Mittal suggests if you are on the investment side, you need time in financial services understanding markets, corporate finance, private deals and how to analyse companies. Having a financial degree, maybe as a chartered financial analyst, and working in the industry for a few years is important.

On the wealth structuring side, qualifying as a lawyer, experience in a law firm or a structuring firm and working with regulators is advantageous. People skills are also vital as you need to understand the flow of a family, he adds.