Published in: Conferences

Three Key take-aways from the session ‘Structuring a UAE hub for regional families’ | STEP Arabia Conference 2025

Published on: November 14, 2025

Published in:

Published in: Conferences

1/ 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗔𝗗𝗚𝗠 & 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗖 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?

The Trust & Estate Practitioners community – incl. STEP Worldwide Chair Kelly Greig, no less – acknowledging the UAE’s meteoric rise from emerging structuring and financial centre to Global powerhouse, and recognizing the country’s unique role in developing the wealth management tools of tomorrow – times are definitely changing.

2/ 𝗨𝗔𝗘 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺.

Genuinely refreshing to see UAE- rooted families educating themselves on the tools & solutions available domestically, their benefits, and embracing their use. 1500+ foundations registered across DIFC/ADGM; mainstream use of DIFC/ADGM SFOs, Holdings, SPVs, and, shortly, VCC. A lesson of how 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀, 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

No surprise, then, that the message has spread beyond the Gulf and that every family office that matters has its eyes on – if not already a second leg in – the Middle East [Check our OPED]

3/ 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁-𝘁𝗼-𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 – 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱!

In times of uncertainty, common trends are emerging: diversification, and increasingly, shifting asset-class dynamics. Alternative assets are growing in strategic importance, a trend not lost upon sophisticated families, predicted to be key investors in the class going forward.

𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘀. The consequence? Many families opting to keep control over their fiduciary structures and proprietary investment strategies, through dedicated verticals.

Many thanks to STEP – Advising Families Across Generations Arabia and the team for organising another spotless conference this year, and to Ismael Hajjar for the dual-effort presentation.

For additional details and discussions, visit the full post on LinkedIn