Custody
Held in your name at Interactive Brokers.
Vault never takes possession of client funds. Assets sit in your own account at IBKR — segregated, with SIPC and FDIC protection on the underlying.
Dubai
A Financial Advisor in Dubai, Paid Only by You
Vault advisors hold CFA and CFP credentials and advise Dubai clients from ADGM under FSRA regulation. One flat management fee, nothing from any product provider, and assets custodied in your own name.
The job title “financial advisor” is not a protected term in most markets, and the UAE is no exception. It is worn by fiduciaries who charge a stated fee and take nothing else, by insurance intermediaries paid a commission on what they place, and by brokers paid on turnover. All three build similar websites and use similar language. What separates them is knowable, and it reduces to three things: what the person is qualified to do, how that person is paid, and who holds your money. This page sets out how to check all three, on us and on anyone else you meet.
What qualifications should a financial advisor in Dubai hold?
Two things get confused here, and they are different: the firm's licence and the individual's qualifications. A firm licence permits a category of activity. It says nothing about the competence of the person sitting across the table.
The credentials that carry weight are the ones with examinable syllabuses and enforceable ethics codes. The Chartered Financial Analyst designation covers investment analysis and portfolio management and takes most candidates several years across three levels. The Certified Financial Planner mark covers planning itself — cash flow, retirement, risk, succession. Chartered status through the CISI or the CII sits in similar territory. Each of these can be verified with the awarding body directly, and each can be lost for a conduct breach.
Vault’s advisors and investment committee hold CFA and CFP credentials, and several joined from global private banks. Every advisor is named, with their background and qualifications, on our team page. Ask any firm for the same: the specific person you would work with, their designations, and where you can verify them.
A reasonable follow-up question is who signs off the investment view. In firms where each advisor builds portfolios alone, quality varies by desk. Vault runs a single investment committee, so the research and the asset-allocation view are consistent across every client, and your advisor's job is applying that view to your circumstances.
How is the advisor sitting across from you personally paid?
Firm-level fee disclosure and individual-level incentive are separate questions, and the second one is rarely asked.
A firm can charge a clean advisory fee while still paying its advisors a bonus tied to how much new money they bring in, which products they place, or how often clients trade. Those incentives reach you through what gets recommended, and they are invisible in a fee schedule.
There are three questions worth putting directly to whoever you are meeting. Does any part of your pay depend on which product I end up holding? Does any part of it depend on how often my portfolio trades? Does a third party pay you or your firm anything when I buy something?
Vault’s answer to all three is no. The firm’s only revenue is a management fee on assets under advice, and advisors are not compensated on product placement or trading activity. The schedule is tiered and marginal: 1.25% on the first $100,000, falling to 0.25% above $1 million — a blended 0.78% on a $1 million portfolio, and free above $20 million. The full table, including what is not charged, is at /fees/.
That structure has a plain consequence: the way for the firm to earn more is for client portfolios to be worth more. Where you want the arithmetic rather than the assurance, the fee page carries the full table, including what is not charged.
Financial advisor, broker, or insurance intermediary?
Three business models operate under overlapping language in Dubai, and telling them apart early saves a great deal of time.
A fee-only advisor is paid by you, recommends from the open market, and holds nothing proprietary. Revenue does not move with what you buy.
A broker executes. Compensation is generally tied to transactions, which makes activity valuable to the firm in a way it may not be to you.
An insurance intermediary places investment products wrapped in a policy. These frequently carry front-loaded charges recovered over an initial term, with a penalty for exiting during it, and are often sold with long contribution schedules. The difference between a broker and an advisor is worth reading in full before you sign anything, because the terms are not recoverable afterwards.
One question separates them faster than any brochure: if I invest nothing today, what do you earn? A fee-only advisor earns nothing. The other two models generally have an answer that involves a product.
What should happen in the first meeting?
A first meeting should produce information for you, not a commitment from you.
What it should cover: your current position across every account and country, what you are actually trying to fund and by when, what the plan would address, and what the total cost would be. Building the plan itself is complimentary at Vault, and the management fee applies only if you decide to invest. Nothing is signed in a first conversation, and booking one commits you to nothing.
What should make you pause: a product named before your goals have been discussed, a projection with a single confident line through it, pressure tied to a deadline or a closing allocation, or reluctance to put total cost in writing.
The output you should leave with is a written picture of where you stand and what a plan would cover. The planning process sets out the sequence in more detail.
What does ongoing advice actually look like?
Advice is a relationship with a cadence, not a document delivered once. Three things determine whether it holds up over a decade.
Continuity of person. Relationship-manager turnover is one of the most common complaints in this market, because each handover restarts the context. Every Vault client has a named advisor from the first conversation, and clients at the higher tiers work with a dedicated senior advisor.
A review that happens without being chased. Your plan updates continuously as markets and circumstances move, with a formal review at least annually and more often on request. Material events — a job change, a property purchase, a new child, a liquidity event — should start a conversation rather than wait for the calendar.
Reporting you can see without asking. Consolidated reporting across your holdings, including assets held elsewhere on a read-only basis, refreshed automatically rather than assembled when requested.
How do I move from my current advisor?
Moving is usually more straightforward than people expect, with one thing worth checking first.
Check what leaving costs before you start. Insurance-wrapped investment products and some platforms carry exit penalties during an initial period, and the figure should come from your existing provider in writing rather than from an estimate. Occasionally the arithmetic says wait; more often it does not, and it is better to know either way.
Where holdings can move as they are, they move in kind rather than being sold, which avoids crystallising positions unnecessarily. Accounts are opened with Interactive Brokers in your own name, and the position-transfer guide covers the mechanics step by step.
Because the custody account is in your name, the same portability applies to us. If the relationship stops working, the account and its holdings stay with the custodian and can be moved to another advisor or self-managed. An advisor who is difficult to leave is telling you something.
Is this specific to Dubai?
Dubai has the highest density of advisory firms in the country, which is why the questions above matter most here. The regulatory picture and the structural facts apply nationally — wealth management in the UAE covers those, wealth management in Dubai covers service scope and total cost, and Abu Dhabi covers what changes when ADGM domicile enters the conversation. Where you would rather see us set against a named alternative, the comparisons do that directly.
Why Vault
A wealth manager built around your interests, not the bank's.
Incentives
Advisor incentives aligned with portfolio growth.
Vault advisors are salaried with bonuses tied to client outcomes and retention. No commissions, no kickbacks, no in-house product flows.
Regulation
Regulated in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Vault Wealth Limited is regulated by the FSRA in ADGM. Vault Saudi Limited Company is licensed by the CMA (licence 25313-20).
Entry point
Starts at USD 100,000 in liquid net wealth.
A genuine private-wealth relationship without the seven-figure threshold that defines traditional private banking.
Investment access
Private markets in the satellite.
Beyond the diversified core, Vault clients access curated private-market opportunities, thematic strategies, and direct convictions — the same shelf as larger institutions.
Planning
Structured financial planning by a dedicated advisor.
Goals, cash flow, risk, and family wealth — modelled end-to-end and reviewed continuously with a CFA- or CFP-qualified advisor who knows your name.
Cash
Daily-yielding SmartCash, no lock-ins.
Multi-currency cash earning daily interest in USD, EUR, and GBP. Withdraw anytime — no teaser rates, no minimums, no surprises.
Testimonials
Trust, earned over time
In volatile markets you need sound strategy, wise counsel and the encouragement to stay the course. Hatim and the Vault team genuinely understand my goals — seasoned professionals I trust.
Dean MorozPartner — Ashurst
Reliable people with deep expertise and a real can-do attitude. It's a privilege to work with you.
Fouad BenghalemEx SVP, MENA — GSK
I'm hands-on with my wealth and investment portfolio. The Vault team worked with me as a partner to implement a Dalio-style 'All Weather' structure. Overall, I see Vault as a long-term wealth partner.
Early EmployeeRevolut
Vault's digital but still personal approach is what we appreciate most. Money matters are sensitive, and their transparency builds trust quickly.
Semuel OerlemansSenior Marketing Manager — Tabby
Finally, professionals who actually listen. Vault's depth of options builds a level of trust I never found at private banks — my family has a real partner now.
Salman KazmiArea Director, MENAT — BMC
Hicham brought clarity and structure to my investments I'd never had before. Responsive, thoughtful, and genuinely focused on long-term wealth rather than short-term moves.
Nada EnanHead of Comms, MENA — Meta
Frequently asked questions
Firms are; the job title is not. Investment advice in the UAE is licensed by the FSRA in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the DFSA in DIFC, or the Securities and Commodities Authority onshore, and firms placing insurance-based products may hold a Central Bank registration instead, which permits different activity. Check the claimed regulator's own public register for the exact legal entity name. Vault Wealth Limited holds an FSRA Category 4 licence with retail endorsement.
They cover different ground. The CFA curriculum is weighted toward investment analysis and portfolio management; the CFP is weighted toward planning — cash flow, retirement funding, risk and succession. For a plan that includes both a portfolio and the life it is funding, you want both disciplines represented on the team rather than choosing between them. Vault's advisors and investment committee hold both.
It varies by service model. Digital platforms start from a few thousand dollars, generally without an assigned advisor. Private banks commonly start between USD 1 million and USD 5 million. Vault's entry point is USD 100,000 in liquid investable assets, with a named advisor from that level, and tiers that move at USD 1 million and USD 5 million.
Both are legitimate, and each has a bias. A percentage of assets aligns the firm with portfolio growth but costs more as the portfolio grows. A fixed retainer is predictable and does not scale, though it can make smaller portfolios expensive in percentage terms. What matters more than the shape is whether the stated figure is the whole figure — underlying fund charges, custody, FX spreads on conversion and any exit penalties all belong in the comparison.
Yes, and for most clients here it is unavoidable. Assets held elsewhere can be aggregated read-only so the plan is built on your full position rather than one slice of it, and holdings can stay where they are while still being planned around. Cross-border exposure frequently survives relocation — UK domicile can retain inheritance tax exposure and US persons report worldwide income regardless of residence — so tax treatment should be confirmed with a qualified tax adviser for your circumstances.
Go to the awarding body rather than the firm's website. CFA Institute, the CFP Board or the relevant national body, the CISI and the CII all publish member verification. Confirm the person's name and that the designation is current. Then check the firm separately on its regulator's public register, since the two are independent of each other.
Meet the advisor before you decide
Book a complimentary session with a Dubai advisor. Ask what they are qualified to do, how they are paid, and who would hold your assets. We will answer all three in writing, and nothing is signed on a first call.