Rothschild launches wealth management office in Dubai to tap wealth influx

By Federico Maccioni

DUBAI (Reuters) – Rothschild has launched a wealth management office in Dubai to boost its offering to local clients as well as wealthy individuals in the region, it said on Tuesday, following other financial institutions tapping into the growing market.

The new office, already operational, will cater to ultra-high-net worth families, entrepreneurs, charities and foundations, the bank said in a statement, adding its Geneva-based Middle East team will now be flanked by local advisers.

Western wealth managers have increased their presence in the United Arab Emirates as its ease of doing business, convenient time zones, and tax-free status has attracted an increasingly diverse pool of investors.

“As a financial centre with impressive demographics and a growing GDP per capita, Dubai is a very attractive market for Rothschild & Co.,” the bank’s Head of Wealth Management for the Middle East Sascha Benz, who will head the office, told Reuters.

Dubai’s “international positioning as a financial centre covering the Middle East region makes it increasingly interesting for wealthy foreigners and institutions,” Benz said, adding the new office aims to serve clients including “local (merchant) families with succession needs”, international families, family offices, and tech-focused entrepreneurs.

Rothschild follows other banks launching or expanding their wealth management offering from Dubai.

In September, JPMorgan set up a private banking team in Dubai and Banco Santander (BME:SAN) private banking launched a new office in the city’s financial centre DIFC.

UBS said a few months earlier it was boosting its wealth management team in the Middle East, joining expansion efforts by other banks such as Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn).