Few places attract money like the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are experiencing rapid growth in their high-net-worth populations, and wealth managers are following suit.
[See also: The UAE is attracting HNWs – and wealth managers are following]
Three decades on from its initial wealth boom, the UAE’s resident HNW population now consists of about 300 centimillionaires and more than a dozen billionaires. And numbers are rising. Wealth research firm Henley & Partners (which has a base in the Emirates) says that 4,500 millionaires moved to the UAE in 2023. Meanwhile Riyadh is expected to witness an 85 per cent growth in its centimillionaire population over the next decade.
This surge has not gone unnoticed by wealth managers, who have also flocked to the region. In recognition of this, Spear’s has sharpened its focused on the wealth managers based in the Middle East, and those who serve Middle Eastern clients from their offices overseas.
Part of the Spear’s Wealth Management Index 2024. See also:
- Best UHNW Wealth Managers 2024
- Best HNW Managers 2024
- Best Wealth Managers: Jersey
- Best Wealth Managers: Guernsey
- Best Wealth Managers: Hong Kong
- Best Wealth Managers: Liechtenstein
- Best Wealth Managers: Luxembourg
- Best Wealth Managers: Monaco
- Best Wealth Managers: Singapore
- Best Wealth Managers: Switzerland
These leading advisers are not only trusted with handling their clients’ investments, but also with developing a broader wealth strategy tailored to their individual needs and financial situations.
Wealth managers can also take into account a range of financial matters, including estate planning, succession, tax services and wealth structuring, guiding individuals and families through every stage of life in financial security.
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The advisers included in the Spear’s index, serving both high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, deliver all of this and more.
- Jump to: Methodology
- Jump to: Best HNW Wealth Managers in the Middle East: the complete list
- Jump to: Find out more
Over the last five years, the Middle East has experienced a monumental shift as UHNWs from across the world set up shop in the region, particularly in countries such as the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, all of which have seen an uptick in their expatriate population. The demand for wealth managers who truly understand the complex needs of their clients — many of whom have wealth that spans across jurisdictions — is more important now than it ever has been before.
Aisha Alli, Spear’s Research Manager
Best Middle East wealth managers: names to know
The Middle East wealth managers index is more thorough and extensive than ever before. This year, we welcome six new names to the list, who join returning industry leaders including Razanne Abaza, of Goldman Sachs, and Lucie Collaud, of Pictet Wealth Management.
Ali-Abbas Merali – Promoted to Top Recommended
Firm: Azura
Ali-Abbas Merali co-heads Azura’s Middle East office in Dubai with partner Mohamed Virani, whom the firm says ‘is regarded as an industry-leading expert in Islamic finance’. The office, the company says, has been thriving since opening in 2021.
Merali is a former Julius Baer banker who used to advise key clients from the Swiss bank’s emerging markets desk. He has spent 15 of his 20-year career in the UAE, having held UHNW client-facing positions at Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Global Private Banking and Citi.
Read Ali-Abbas Merali’s full profile on Spears500.com
Andrew Bates – New Addition
Firm: Nedbank Private Wealth
‘We are confident in our ability to deliver exceptional service with our ever-growing, talented team as we provide a bespoke experience to our clients,’ says Andrew Bates, Nedbank’s Middle East head of private banking. In 2023, the bank was awarded the WealthBriefing MENA award for ‘Best Private Bank Client Service.’
Read Andrew Bates’ full profile on Spears500.com
Sebastian Goeres – New Addition
Firm: LGT Wealth Management
Sebastian Goeres, senior executive officer at LGT Middle East, says the firm supports ‘clients in the Middle East in building and managing their wealth, based on the same values and convictions that have guided our owners, the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, for nearly 900 years’.
Read Sebastian Goeres full profile on Spears500.com
Douglas Bourne – New Addition
Firm: Schroders Wealth Management
Country head for Schroders Middle East, Douglas Bourne joined the firm in 2018 as a client director. He was responsible for leading institutional sales but now builds the bank’s network in the region.
Read Douglas Bourne’s full profile on Spears500.com
Ali Jamal – Returning to Top Recommended
Firm: Azura
Ali Jamal is a former Kuwaiti army officer and Julius Baer ex-banker. He launched Azura in 2019, saying that he had ‘big plans for the future of the firm’. With offices now up and running in London, Monaco, Dubai, Geneva, New York and Singapore, Jamal’s ambitious dreams have come to fruition.
Read Ali Jamal’s full profile on Spears500.com
Paul Doyle – New Addition
Firm: Fiera Capital
Fiera Capital‘s Paul Doyle is responsible for working with family offices and institutional investors, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. He advises on matters relating to private equity, liquid alternatives and hedge funds.
Read Paul Doyle’s full profile on Spears500.com
Kees Hoving – New Addition
Firm: Deutsche Bank AG
Kees Hoving, Deutsche Bank‘s UAE Chief Country Officer, has spent almost 15 years with the firm, three of which he was tasked with building the bank’s presence in the region as CEO.
Read Keess Hoving’s full profile on Spears500.com
Methodology
In selecting and ranking Middle East wealth managers, the Spear’s Research Unit conducts extensive research of the market, including interviews with well-informed observers, industry insiders and of course the advisers themselves. These take place both face-to-face, and on video and telephone calls. Candidates for inclusion are asked to fill in a form to provide data and a description of their work and client base. In finalising its selections and rankings, the Spear’s Research Unit employs a proprietary methodology that includes a weighted scoring system. This takes into account factors including an adviser’s standing, reputation, client base, recommendations and testimonials, the firm they represent, their level of engagement with the process and certain industry-specific criteria.
Best Middle East wealth managers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
Find out more
To explore all the Spear’s indices, and to use our find-an-adviser tool to identify the private client adviser who is right for your specific requirements, go to the Spear’s 500 website.
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