Dubai is a city that welcomes wealth from all corners of the globe. The appeal here is often framed in lifestyle terms (year-round sunshine, no income tax, a safe, global hub), but underpinning it all is a well-regulated financial ecosystem. Today, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is home to more than 440 licensed asset managers, private banks, and independent advisors, each there to support a growing base of investors and businesses.
The system however, is still relatively nascent, and managing your finances within it effectively can be complex. This is where a good financial planner comes in. Whether you're growing your wealth, protecting it, or planning the succession of your estate, a trusted advisor helps bring confidence to your decisions. Below, we’ve profiled five licensed firms in Dubai for financial planning – each with its own approach and client focus.
Emirates NBD Private Banking
A natural starting point for many local investors, Emirates NBD’s private banking division offers the full spectrum of financial planning services, from portfolio management to trust planning. It’s institutional in scale but deeply rooted in the Gulf, with more than 200 branches across the GCC.
Property plays a central role in many client plans here. Within the UAE, the bank provides in-house mortgage solutions, structured lending against real estate, and tailored advice on income-generating assets. For families and entrepreneurs with long-term regional ties, it’s this blend of banking access and integrated planning that makes Emirates NBD a consistent first choice.
Emiratis are particularly well served, with a dedicated real estate advisory team and a streamlined Emirati-only digital platform. While the investment approach tends to be risk-aware rather than aggressive, the platform’s reach and stability offer lasting value for those planning across generations.
The Fry Group
While many finance managers talk about investment, The Fry Group talks more about planning – the kind that starts with your tax position, maps out your long-term goals, and takes into account every property, pension, or passport along the way. First founded in the UK in 1898, this privately-owned firm brings more than 120 years of provenance to the UAE, with a DFSA-regulated office in DIFC.
The Fry Group specialises in helping expats structure wealth across borders, whether it’s managing a UK property portfolio while living in the UAE, or simply ensuring your assets are structured in a way that’s tax-efficient and future-proof.
One of the more overlooked financial planning strategies The Fry Group offers is life assurance (not to be confused with life insurance), which is a guaranteed, tax-free payout upon death. This is typically used for long-term estate planning, rather than short-term protection. Unlike life insurance, life assurance is usually whole-of-life and is often held in trust. For high-net-worth clients, it can help offset inheritance tax bills on overseas properties and prevent the unwanted sale of a home or asset to settle an estate.
The company also provides forward-thinking guidance on other safety nets like income protection insurance and critical illness protection. For those navigating life between two financial systems, it’s a dependable choice that’s technically astute with a warm, human approach.
Julius Baer
For high-net-worth investors in Dubai, Julius Baer barely needs an introduction. This Zurich-born private bank has been shaping wealth strategies for over 130 years and was among the first international wealth managers licensed in DIFC back in 2004. Today, its Dubai office houses a 200-strong team specialising in investment advisory, credit structuring, and long-term planning, including succession and intergenerational wealth transfer.
This is a selective firm best suited for those with complex, high-value portfolios (typically upward of $2 million in investable assets). Julius Baer brings real estate into sharper focus than most private banks: its in-house team works with clients on everything from international property purchases to asset-backed lending and strategic refinancing. It advises on both commercial and residential real estate.
The advisory approach here is unhurried and relationship-led, focused more on long-term alignment and financial health over quick wins. It tends to attract clients who already understand the shape of their wealth and want to protect and refine it.
Similar trusted names in DIFC include Lombard Odier, Banque Pictet and UBS.
Finsbury Associates
Finsbury Associates is an award-winning boutique advisory firm with a focus on life-long financial planning. Based in Business Bay and regulated by the UAE Insurance Authority, its team is made up of internationally-qualified professionals who work closely with expats, business owners, and senior executives navigating wealth across countries – particularly the UK.
The firm takes a planning-first approach, helping clients build strategies that account for overseas pensions, family protection, real estate, and future liabilities, such as higher education. While investment is part of the picture, Finsbury is best known for structuring – designing plans that hold up across jurisdictions and across generations. Life insurance, critical illness cover and other safeguards are typically folded into the plan, too.
Alongside in-person seminars and workshops on financial planning, Finsbury offers free access to helpful tools like education fee calculators, tax calculators, and tax planning worksheets.
Vault Wealth
Vault is one of the newest names in Dubai’s financial planning market. Backed by Peak XV, this ADGM-licensed platform launched publicly in 2024 with a mission to modernise how private wealth is managed in the region. It’s far more accessible than industry heavyweights like Julius Baer, requiring a minimum of $100,000 in liquid assets.
“Vault is what wealth management should look like today: digital-first, fiduciary by design, and built for how people live and invest now,” said CEO and co-founder Bilal Abou-Diab at the time of launch. It’s a fitting choice for younger HNWIs or founders who may be used to managing their lives from a screen.
Despite its tech-led interface, Vault puts planning at the centre of its service. Each client is paired with a personal financial adviser to help shape long-term strategy, from setting investment goals to building a well-rounded portfolio that evolves with them.
Through the app, clients can monitor their wealth in real time, invest globally via Interactive Brokers, and access private market opportunities across real estate, credit, and venture capital. Fees are transparent, with no entry or exit charges and a tiered structure that decreases as assets grow.
Final Thoughts
Financial planning in Dubai is no longer reserved for the ultra-wealthy or the overly cautious. As the city’s financial infrastructure matures, so too does the need for sharper, more forward-thinking advisers. For expats especially, the right partner can make all the difference: someone who sees the full picture, maps a strategy across borders, and helps ensure your wealth supports your life, not the other way around.
