The Briton, with Saudi and Lebanese parents, has lived and worked in the region since graduating from university in the UK. The 42-year-old lives in Dubai, with his wife and three children – two daughters aged nine and four and a son, aged 11.
Mr Hassan, who has led Mirabaud Asset Management in the region for a year following stints at global and regional financial services firms, is also the president of the London Business School Gulf Alumni Association.
What are your favourite things to do on the weekend?
With so much travel meeting Mirabaud’s clients around the region, weekends for me are about being at home with my family – my wife, Rana, and three kids. Often we will spend the weekend in one of the smaller emirates, our favourites being Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah – we are so lucky to have such stunning landscapes so close to our city. My guilty pleasure is my motorcycle and most Friday mornings I get up very early and meet up with four or five of my rider buddies and we head out on the roads of the UAE. The feeling of freedom on the open road in the desert is remarkable and refreshing, and gives me an opportunity to escape the pressures of office life.
What do you consider to be your favourite hobbies?
Motorbiking and football. I currently ride a Harley Davidson Ultra Limited Tourer – I say “currently” because I cannot rule out another purchase in the near future. Watching football with my son is also an important part of my weekend. We are both massive Arsenal fans and have enjoyed a great run, recently winning the FA Cup.
What can’t you live without?
How did we ever function without smartphones? My iPhone is glued to my hand, apart from when I am on my motorbike. Honestly though, I think the most important thing in life is being able to laugh, relax and let your hair down.
What do you consider the secret to your success?
I am a people person, so I credit networking and really working on long-term relationships as the key to any success I have had. Mirabaud has been here in the region for years and I joined in large part because of the long-term relationships it has built in the region. I have always been fairly unflappable and do not get too stressed. I think learning to enjoy your time off helps with this and anyway, my family would never let me get away with any kind of emotional self-indulgence.
What advice would you offer others starting out in your business?
Get out there and meet as many people as you can – network, network, network. There is no substitute for being extremely well connected. Of course how you conduct yourself within the network you build is also critical, and you must be honest and transparent with your clients. That will help you earn their trust and help you build long-lasting relationships with them. You should also be prepared to go the extra mile for your clients too to distinguish yourself from the competition.
How do you achieve a work-life balance?
It is not always possible, especially with a hectic travel schedule. However I do spend any free time I have with my family, taking them on a holiday, reading a good book, going for a swim and doing the things that I enjoy the most. When you travel as much as my job requires it is important to set aside time to spend with the really important people in your life.
How do you relax after the working day?
I always make sure that I am home before the kids go to bed to read them a bedtime story and tuck them in bed. This is important for them, but it also helps me to unwind and remember the priorities of life such as getting to spend quality time with my wife.
If you were not head of asset management, what else would you be doing?
It has always been a dream of mine to own and run a restaurant. I know this is a notoriously hard way to make a living, but I would love to give it a go. I would have to think hard about the theme, but maybe a high-end steak house.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
