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.
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 there has been a 102 per cent growth in the number of millionaires in Dubai between 2014 and 2024. Meanwhile cities like Riyadh, Jeddah and Sharjah are expected to witness a ‘high growth‘ in their centimillionaire population over the next decade.
[See also: The UAE is attracting HNWs – and wealth managers are following]
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.
Explore the other rankings within the 2025 Spear’s Wealth Management Indices:
- Best UHNW Wealth Managers
- Best HNW Wealth Managers
- Best Wealth Managers: Jersey
- Best Wealth Managers: Guernsey
- Best Wealth Managers: Singapore
- Best Wealth Managers: Switzerland
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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.
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.
Click the links below to jump to a section of this article:
- Methodology
- Best wealth managers in the Middle East: some names to know
- Best wealth managers in the Middle East: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
Best wealth managers in the Middle East: some names to know
Mazy Moghadham
- Focus: Local Gulf region clients
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Julius Baer
Moghadam has spent the past decade supporting private clients with their wealth management and investment needs. He has spent his career advising UHNWs across global wealth hubs including London and Monaco. His latest challenge is Dubai, where he focuses on building the bank’s presence in the UAE and wider Gulf region.
‘My next push is to tackle local clients, particularly in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia,’ he reveals. ‘Abu Dhabi is on the charm offensive right now, attracting wealthy investors.’
Read Mazy Moghadham’s full profile on Spears500.com
Ali-Abbas Merali
- Focus: Islamic finance
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Azura Partners
Ali-Abbas Merali is a partner at Azura Partners’ 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, according to the company, has been thriving since opening in 2021. This was further evidenced by Azura’s announcement in April 2025 that Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based alternative investment manager with more than $110 billion in assets under management, would acquire a stake in the firm.
Read Ali-Abbas Merali’s full profile on Spears500.com
Mark Leale
- Focus: Discretionary portfolio management
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Quilter Cheviot
Mark Leale, senior executive officer and head of the Dubai office at Quilter Cheviot, says his firm is focused on providing a strong discretionary portfolio management service for clients, working with successful expats, international UHNWs and wealthy Emirati families.
With more than two decades of experience in the financial world, Leale relishes the client-centric aspects of his role, particularly nurturing relationships that he ‘hopes will endure for generations’.
Read Mark Leale’s full profile on Spears500.com
Best wealth managers in the Middle East: the complete list
Contact us
- To apply for inclusion in The Spear’s 500, complete our submission form.
- For further information about rankings, please email research@spearswms.com; we aim to respond to all queries within two working days.
- For commercial enquiries and questions relating to enhanced profiles, please contact Commercial Director Shady Elkholy: shady.elkholy@spearswms.com
- To keep up to date with the Spear’s 500, subscribe to our magazine, newsletter and follow Spear’s on Linkedin and Instagram.
- If you have missed calendar deadlines for our research cycles in 2025, you can still register your interest for updates about upcoming research and rankings.
- Click here to order a print copy of The Spear’s 500.
