Security Notice
We have been made aware of bad actors falsely claiming to represent Artane Partners. These communications are not authorised by us and do not reflect our firm.

We have been made aware of bad actors falsely claiming to represent Artane Partners, including false claims about our deals, mandates, and conduct. These communications are not authorised by us and do not reflect our firm.

Authentic Artane Partners communications come from the artanepartners.com domain (including notifications@alerts.artanepartners.com). We never ask you to pay a fee to release funds, and we never take custody of client or investor money.

If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Artane Partners, please do not respond and report it to contact@artanepartners.com. You can also verify Artane Partners independently.

العربية Book a call

Gulf markets · Abu Dhabi, Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Capital in the United Arab Emirates is allocated at more than one level: by the investment institutions of individual emirates, such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai; by the federal government’s own sovereign wealth fund; and through two financial free zones, the Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market, each with its own regulator.

Sovereign and state investors

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)

Established by the Government of Abu Dhabi in 1976 as an independent investment institution, ADIA invests funds allocated to it by the government with the aim of generating sustainable long-term returns. Its 2025 Review reported 20-year and 30-year annualised returns of 6.6% and 7.2% as at 31 December 2025; the 2025 figures are provisional.

Mubadala Investment Company

Created in 2017 through the merger of IPIC and Mubadala Development Company, founded in 2002; the Abu Dhabi Investment Council became part of Mubadala in 2018. Mubadala reported assets under management of AED 1.4 trillion (USD 385 billion) for 2025, invested in the UAE and abroad.

L’IMAD Holding and ADQ

In January 2026, Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs resolved to consolidate the assets and investments of ADQ (Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Group) under L’IMAD Holding, creating a portfolio of 25 investment companies and platforms and more than 250 group subsidiaries.

Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD)

Established in 2006 under Law No. 11 of 2006 and wholly owned by the Government of Dubai, ICD is the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai.

Emirates Investment Authority (EIA)

Established by Federal Decree Law No. 4 of 2007, amended by Federal Decree Law No. 13 of 2009, EIA describes itself as the only sovereign wealth fund of the UAE Federal Government, investing in a diversified portfolio of assets.

Family offices and private wealth

According to the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, family businesses contribute 60% of the country’s GDP, employ 80% of its workforce and account for around 90% of private companies. At federal level they are governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 37 of 2022 on Family Businesses.

Both financial free zones have family office frameworks. DIFC operates the DIFC Family Wealth Centre alongside the DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2023, and reported 1,408 family-related entities at the end of the first half of 2026. ADGM offers a single family office regime for a company set up exclusively to manage the financial and personal affairs of one family.

Institutional investors

General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA)

Administers pensions for UAE nationals at federal level, under Federal Law No. 7 of 1999.

Abu Dhabi Pension Fund

Operates under Law No. 2 of 2000. It states that it manages the assets that result from contributions through long-term investment strategies.

Insurers

The Central Bank of the UAE reports total assets of about AED 164.9 billion for the UAE insurance sector in 2025.

Wealth, asset and fund managers

At the end of the first half of 2026, DIFC reported 592 wealth and asset management firms, and ADGM reported 190 fund and asset managers and 276 funds managed from ADGM.

Financial centres and regulators

Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)

Regulates banks, other financial institutions and insurers under Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025, which also designated it the Resolution Authority.

Capital Market Authority (CMA)

The federal authority formerly named the Securities and Commodities Authority, renamed under Federal Decree-Laws No. 32 and No. 33 of 2025 with effect from 1 January 2026. At the end of 2025, about 158 foreign investment funds were registered with it for direct promotion in the UAE.

DIFC and the DFSA

The Dubai International Financial Centre is a financial free zone in Dubai whose independent regulator is the Dubai Financial Services Authority. DIFC reported 1,134 regulated financial services firms at the end of the first half of 2026.

ADGM and the FSRA

Abu Dhabi Global Market is an international financial centre on Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. Its financial services regulator is the Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

National agenda

The national vision, We the UAE 2031, aims to double the country’s GDP from AED 1.49 trillion to AED 3 trillion. The Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy over the decade to 2033, including raising foreign direct investment to an average of AED 60 billion a year.

Sharia-compliant finance

According to the Central Bank of the UAE, Islamic banking held a 24.7% share of the UAE banking system in 2025, with Islamic assets of about AED 1,329 billion, a figure that includes Islamic banks, the Islamic windows of conventional banks and Islamic finance companies. Nasdaq Dubai reported USD 98.6 billion of listed sukuk outstanding at the end of the first half of 2026.

Working week and time zone

Federal government
Monday to Thursday, 7:30 to 15:30, and Friday, 7:30 to 12:00. Saturday and Sunday have been the official weekend since 1 January 2022.
Government of Sharjah
Monday to Thursday, with a weekend of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Exchanges
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market have traded Monday to Friday since 3 January 2022.
Private sector
The official portal sets standard hours of 8 a day or 48 a week and does not prescribe weekend days.
Time zone
UTC+4 (Gulf Standard Time), four hours ahead of GMT; no daylight saving time.

Preparing a raise in the UAE

Federal working days run Monday to Friday, with Friday ending at noon, while the other five Gulf states work Sunday to Thursday. Monday to Thursday is the window all six share.

The rules that apply to a raise depend on where and to whom it is presented. Outside the financial free zones, the Central Bank of the UAE and the Capital Market Authority regulate; DIFC and ADGM have their own regulators, the DFSA and the FSRA. Which regime applies is a question for legal counsel before materials are circulated.

Artane Partners has no affiliation with, and is not endorsed by, any institution named on this page.

Sources

Each figure is given as its source published it, with the date stated on this page. All sources were accessed on 23 October 2026.

Considering a raise into Gulf capital?

Artane Partners has senior coverage across Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Kuwait City.

If you are preparing a raise and would like to discuss the UAE, we would be glad to hear from you.

Book a call →

Subscribe to The Gulf Capital Brief

Our briefing on capital moving between the West and the Gulf - what GCC sovereign wealth funds, family offices and institutions are backing, and what it means for companies raising.

You can unsubscribe at any time. For information about how your personal data is handled, see our Privacy Policy.