Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is financial advisory and analysis in the UAE?
Financial advisory and analysis combines investment recommendations, securities analysis, and corporate finance services. It covers equity research, M&A advisory, capital raising counsel, and securities-related advisory under SCA regulation.
2. Does financial advisory require SCA approval?
Yes. Financial advisory and financial analysis activities involving securities recommendations or capital markets work require pre-establishment approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority before the business license is issued.
3. What is the size of the UAE financial advisory market?
The UAE Financial Advisory market reached USD 186.73 billion in 2025 per Statista, projected to grow to USD 213.10 billion by 2030 at 2.19% CAGR, with wealth management AUM at USD 1.2 trillion.
4. What clients does financial advisory serve in the UAE?
Institutional investors, family offices, HNW individuals, corporates pursuing M&A, IPO candidates engaging with ADX or DFM, and clients seeking Sharia-compliant or ESG investment frameworks.
5. How does financial advisory differ from fund management?
Financial advisory provides recommendations and analysis without taking discretionary control of client funds. Fund management actively manages assets on a discretionary basis under separate licensing and regulatory framework.
How to Start a Financial Advisory and Financial Analysis Business with Meydan Free Zone
Every UAE IPO, every cross-border M&A, every family office allocation starts the same way: with an SCA-licensed advisor in the room. This regulatory gating, applied to one of the GCC's largest wealth pools, is what makes financial advisory in the UAE so commercially distinctive.
The UAE Financial Advisory market reached USD 186.73 billion in 2025 according to Statista¹, projected to grow to USD 213.10 billion by 2030 at 2.19 percent CAGR, while UAE Wealth Management AUM stood at USD 1.2 trillion according to ResearchAndMarkets², with private banking and investment advisory anchored by Emirates NBD, FAB, ADCB, HSBC Middle East, Standard Chartered, Julius Baer, UBS, and Morgan Stanley.
Sources: Statista (2025); ResearchAndMarkets (2025); Securities and Commodities Authority (2025)
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The dynamics fuelling demand are structural. According to Henley & Partners⁴, the UAE attracted 6,700 new millionaires to Dubai alone in 2024, the largest inflow of any city globally, lifting the country's HNW base to 130,500.
Each one of them brings the same set of problems: how to structure assets across borders, where to allocate, what to do about succession, how to stay compliant in three jurisdictions at once. That work has to go somewhere, and increasingly it goes to boutiques and specialist desks rather than the global private banks.
DX and DFM raised AED 22 billion across seven IPOs in 2024 per Aletihad⁵, headlined by Talabat's AED 7.5 billion DFM debut, the world's largest technology listing of the year. Behind every prospectus sits an advisor preparing the issuer, and behind every allocation decision sits another advising the buyer. UAE M&A recorded 130 deals worth USD 11.68 billion in 2024 according to Global Legal Insights⁶. UAE deal flow now leads the MENA region, drawing in cross-border mandates that used to route through London or Singapore.
From equity research desks and M&A boutiques to IPO advisors and family office wealth platforms, the UAE financial advisory market rewards specialists at every transaction stage.
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Who is this for?
- Equity research and securities analysis firms: SCA-licensed firms providing equity research, securities analysis, and investment recommendations to UAE institutional, family office, and HNW clients on listed and unlisted instruments.
- M&A and corporate finance advisors: Advisory firms supporting UAE corporates with M&A transactions, capital raising, IPO preparation, and strategic financial advisory across sectors and geographies.
- Specialist sector and Sharia-compliant advisors: Firms providing specialist sector expertise (real estate, technology, energy, healthcare), Sharia-compliant investment advisory, and ESG and sustainable investment frameworks for UAE clients.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero corporate tax on qualifying income, and a fully digital licensing process, positioning financial advisory and analysis firms at the centre of a market where SCA-regulated investment recommendations, corporate finance demand from regional M&A activity, capital market growth, and IPO pipelines anchor sustained advisory activity.
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6619.13: Financial Advisory and Financial Analysis
Under this activity, you are licensed to provide financial advisory and financial analysis services.
However, this activity has defined boundaries. It excludes the activities of insurance agents and brokers (which falls under activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding), and the management of investment funds (which falls under fund management activities).
Simply put: if you provide SCA-licensed financial advisory and financial analysis services to UAE clients on investment recommendations, M&A, or corporate finance, you are in.
Third-Party Approval
This business activity requires approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) before the trade license is issued.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Citations
¹ Statista. Financial Advisory - United Arab Emirates. Statista, 2025.
² ResearchAndMarkets. UAE Wealth Management Market Size, Share, Growth Drivers, Trends & Forecast 2025-2030. ResearchAndMarkets, 2025.
³ Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), UAE. Financial Advisory Licensing Framework. SCA, UAE.
⁴ Henley & Partners. World's Wealthiest Cities Report 2024. Henley & Partners, May 2024.
⁵ Aletihad News Center. After Successful Run in 2024, IPOs Set for Another Boom in 2025. Aletihad News Center, December 2024.
⁶ Global Legal Insights. Mergers & Acquisitions Laws & Regulations 2025: UAE. Global Legal Insights, 2025.
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