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JP Morgan sets up private banking team to tap Dubai’s HNWI boom

Dubai has become a magnet for high-networth Individuals

JP Morgan is entering Dubai with a new private banking team on the back of the city’s fast-growing fame and appeal as a global investment and innovation hub.

The leading US investment bank’s strategic foray is close on the heels of similar expansions by UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Lombard Odier, underscoring the strong confidence in the region's potential as a haven for the world’s affluent population.

With its tax advantages, strategic location, and political neutrality, Dubai has become a magnet for high-networth Individuals (HNWIs) over the past few years. With a projected net inflow of over 6,700 millionaires in 2024 — more than any other country in the world --- the UAE will continue its status as one of the most-sought after destinations for the world’s wealthy individuals and investment firms.

A JP Morgan team led by veterans Sebastian Botana de Beauvau and Carol Mushriqui from Geneva and London seeks to serve a diverse clientele, including individuals, family offices, charities, and family foundations in the GCC with Dubai as its base.

"The Middle East has for some time now, been a fast-growing global hub for innovation, attracting global interest and investment. Our dedicated local team strengthens our ability to serve our clients better," Karim Rekik, JPM's head of Emerging Markets and Middle East, International Private Bank, was quoted in a statement.

The Wall Street bank added it had plans "to grow the team steadily in the coming years," without providing a specific figure.

In June, UBS said it was strengthening its wealth management team in the Middle East with 10 new hires, joining expansion efforts by other Western banks and Asian wealth managers. The UAE has been emerging as a top contender in attracting private capital and talent for quite some time, given its appeal—neutral political stance, business-friendly environment, convenient time zones, and tax-free status—making it a hotbed for investors.

Investment banking sources argue that since investment-based migration is increasingly driven by a confluence of economic, geopolitical, and domestic social factors, the UAE is better positioned with its reputation a reliable, safe, and appealing environment for high-net-worth families. Other reasons behind the magnetic pull of the Arab world’s second-largest economy include its premium real estate, investor-friendly frameworks, large industrial goals, and a highly sought-after residence by investment initiative.

“The UAE’s economic framework is a cornerstone of its increasing appeal to high-net-worth families. The country’s future readiness, reform-driven transition agenda, and upbeat growth outlook are alluring reasons for the rich to locate in this safe-haven hub. Dubai Economic Agenda D’33, which aims to double the economy by 2030 and elevate the emirate into the ranks of the top three global cities for investment, living, and working is a key reason investors bet on its future. The Dubai drive is complemented by Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030, seeking to revolutionize the emirate into a cutting-edge, globally competitive hub, analysts said.

A testament to this long-term growth outlook is the World Bank’s real GDP growth projection for the UAE for 2024 and 2025 at 3.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively, as well as a ‘AA-’ Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating by Fitch, which reflects the country’s moderate consolidated public debt level, strong net external asset position, and high GDP per capita, analysts said.