UAE a major market for financial advisors

The UAE financial adviser study, conducted by the Durable Portfolio Construction Research Centre of Natixis Global Asset Management (NGAM), one of the 15 largest asset managers in the world based on assets under management, concludes that the UAE is one of the strongest markets for advisers globally, with great potential for further growth if current challenges are successfully overcome.

Forty per cent of UAE advisers say their business is growing strongly, compared to thirteen per cent of advisers globally – a testament to their skills in forging strong client relationships, providing a high level of advice and making the right investment decisions.  Overall, nearly three in four (72%) UAE advisers are in a growth phase, according to the survey.

Globally, one of the biggest challenges advisers face is constructing portfolios that reduce risks and enhance returns simultaneously. Data shows that UAE advisers are twice more likely than their international peers to balance client asset growth with protection of capital, with seventy seven per cent of local advisers seeking specific investment strategies aimed at managing volatility

UAE advisers spend a considerable amount of time explaining investment concepts to clients. This is the number one service proposition for thirty-seven per cent of UAE advisers, compared to only one in five advisers internationally (twenty-two per cent).

This counselling approach is not surprising considering the key educational role that advisers can play in their clients’ financial planning. In an earlier survey conducted by NGAM of individual investors globally and in the UAE, a staggering majority of eighty per cent of individual investors in the UAE say they do not have strong investment knowledge, with only twenty per cent confident of their knowledge and choices. Furthermore, only 35% of UAE investors say they have a plan that will help them reach financial goals.