Building your own financial security as a senior international professional is like a bridge between your current and future self. It can take years, but when done well, it can be magnificent.

As a resident of the UAE, you're living in one of the most exciting regions of the world, where your quality of life and that of your family will be second to none. You'll likely have many opportunities for travel, to experience the fascinating and rich culture and heritage, to work hard, and to get ahead financially.

If you’re looking for financial planning advice while working in Dubai, the most important thing is to find a financial planning consultant backed by an organisation you can trust. Do not assume the rules and regulations governing financial advice are the same as they are 'back home'. Tread with caution.

Follow your instincts when deciding whether or not to work with a financial planning expert. Remember, they work for you and should always operate in your best interests. Make sure you find financial planning consultants who value you as a client and who are fully transparent in terms of the service they deliver for the fee they charge.

Above all else, don’t be afraid to ask questions. A good financial planner in Dubai will:

1. Charge a transparent fee, not a hidden commission.

2. Be highly professionally qualified (Chartered or working towards Chartered status).

3. Take the time to learn about you, your goals, and explain all your options, so you can make fully informed decisions for the benefit of your ideal future.

On this page, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about financial advice in Dubai, and what good financial planning looks like

Financial adviser for expats in Dubai

Navigating your finances as an international, expatriate family can be complex, which is why seeking expat financial advice is essential. A trusted expat financial adviser in Dubai can help you manage your family's wealth, plan for the future, and make the most of opportunities while avoiding common pitfalls. With expert expat financial planning, you can build a secure financial future, protect your assets, and achieve your long-term goals while enjoying life in Dubai.

Financial adviser for global citizens in Dubai

As a senior international professional living in Dubai, you have so many opportunities – to travel, relax, socialise, progress your career…and to advance your financial standing.

But, like the many international executives we assist, you probably lack the time, inclination or knowledge to handle your (likely complex) finances alone.

Add to this that in Dubai, almost anyone can call themselves a financial adviser or planner, regardless of whether they have relevant skills, qualifications and experience or not.

Many international 'financial advisers' in Dubai are salespeople, whose interests are not aligned with their clients’, as they receive commission payments for products and solutions they sell.

The opposite of this are fiduciaries who charge a fee, and whose interests are intrinsically aligned with their clients’. However, both may go by the same professional moniker.

Ensure your financial adviser in Dubai has your interests at heart. When it comes to financial advice for global citizens, AES is the only independently certified fiduciary in the region.

Wealth management in Dubai

Wealth management for high-net-worth-individuals in Dubai

Financial life management is a core element of our business. It makes up part the 9 domains of family wealth.

When it comes to wealth management for high-net-worth-individuals in Dubai, we know that success begins from a detailed understanding of each individual client’s position, and that's achieved through financial advice and the planning process.

We offer comprehensive financial planning solutions for those who are seeking expert support to grow and protect their assets and manage the complexities of family wealth. In addition, we also consult on the different aspects of any individual’s overall wealth strategy and how this fits into their wider family wealth planning.

Therefore, whatever your current financial requirements, please do get in touch to discuss them with one of our chartered financial planners in Dubai. We'll always do everything we can to help you.

Financial planning and investment management is an ongoing process that lasts your lifetime. It may begin when you receive your first pay cheque, or when you take out a mortgage.

As you live your life, and opportunities and challenges present themselves, so your financial plan will need to be adapted and honed on a fairly consistent basis. Financial planning while in Dubai will involve maximising the money you earn, saving and investing systematically for growth and stability, setting money aside for your long-term ambitions, like retirement, and sometimes just juggling your finances to meet all your expenses.

Financial planning needs are as unique as every person on the planet. A core part of financial planning is cash flow forecasting. That includes estimating the timing and amounts of cash inflows and outflows over a specific period. And cash flow forecasts can factor in different scenarios, to help you make the best decisions for your wealth at any given time.

For example, a cash flow plan for a retired person who has money saved and invested in pensions and funds might look at the tax implications of drawing different amounts annually. It could also look at whether it’s more tax effective to deplete inheritance taxable assets first, leaving pension funds until last.

Cash flow planning, or forecasting, is usually part of financial planning undertaken by a financial planning professional for anyone with more complex financial decisions to make. The forecast is a financial illustration that draws out your options, and the likely consequences of the decisions you could conceivably make.

As an international professional and part of a globally-minded family, financial planning has even more significance, since your circumstances are likely more complex. Seeking a sage guide can help you navigate these complexities with confidence.

A professional financial planner in Dubai, particularly an independent financial adviser, can help you work out your short, medium, and long-term financial and life goals, determine whether they're achievable, and if so, how. The end result is a clear plan and pathway designed to meet all of your goals.

Without financial life management, how can you know where you want to get to, financially speaking - and how can you know what you need to do to get there? Working with a fiduciary, independent financial adviser in Dubai ensures you receive unbiased guidance tailored to your unique situation, including financial advice for tax planning to optimise your wealth. The right independent financial advisers will always act in your best interest, helping you make well-informed decisions that support both your present and future security.

There could be more financial risks you’re exposed to, now that you live abroad. And, there could be more opportunities open to you for the investment of your wealth. You need to understand the risks and benefits, plan to make the most of your time abroad, and factor in the most basic but critical financial rule all international professionals should follow…

If you’re from country A, and you live in country B, then you should bank in country C.

Banking offshore - that is banking in any country other than the one you live in – is one of the most sensible things you can do as an international professional.

It keeps your money outside your old home country’s tax net, it protects it from any economic or political threats that could arise in your current country, and as long as you choose a well-regulated offshore jurisdiction, it should mean your wealth is best protected.

Here are 9 more reasons why global citizens in Dubai need to think about financial planning:

1. Managing your income

If you know how much you have coming in, what your outgoings are - including taxation if relevant - then you can ensure you live well within your means. You can plan to save and invest regularly each month towards longer-term goals.

The secret of many millionaires’ success is simply that – living well below their means so they have excess wealth to save and invest for growth.

2. Cash flow forecasting

3. Capital growth

4. Family protection

5. Maintain your standard of living

6. Financial knowhow

7. Acquire valuable assets

8. Savings mind-set

9. Ongoing advice

1. Cash flow planning or cash management

One of the best routes to strong budgeting - and ultimately to stress reduction - is to prepare a cash flow plan.

It will help inform your spending and savings decisions - and importantly, flag up future problems before they arise.

Your cash flow plan will take into account your income, assets, outgoings, other present-day information, and predict your future cash flow in order to predict how much money you’ll have coming in and going out at any given point in your life.

Your forecast will help you plainly see expenditure, so you can better plan.

The aim of cash management like this is to help you feel more confident about your finances, and have sufficient disposable income to enjoy throughout life – i.e., so you balance spending today - and then saving for growth for your future income needs.

An additional benefit is that many cash flow forecasts created by professional financial planners will help you spot potential shortfalls or issues before they occur.

If your plan anticipates future difficulties, such as not having enough to retire on, you’ll have plenty of warning to make alternative arrangements – like cutting spending and investing more today, so you can retire sooner and on a better income.

A strong side benefit of having a solid cash flow plan is that you demonstrate effective budgeting - which may give others confidence in your financial management, thus potentially helping you secure loans, funding, mortgages or overdrafts.

When we create a cash flow plan for you, we factor in extensive data. For example, we plan for the worst, plan for multiple different scenarios, consider fixed and variable costs and returns on investment…

And then we create your financial roadmap for your future prosperity.

2. Family and protection

3. Estate planning

4. Investment planning

5. Retirement planning

6. Offshore banking

Linking the above mentioned elements of financial planning together is tax and trust planning.

Don’t overlook your tax burden when planning your finances.

Even if you live in a low-tax jurisdiction now, you may be exposed to taxation in the future depending on how your portfolio is currently structured, and what your future plans are.

It’s also important to consider whether international trusts have a role to play in helping you manage your wealth.

While taxation is a fact of life, there is no law in any land that says you must pay more than you owe. And yet, that is what so many senior professionals end up doing, simply because they have failed to plan effectively, or perhaps don’t even understand their liability for tax.

If you’re a British expat – or have assets in the UK – your beneficiaries may be liable for UK inheritance tax for example - potentially on your worldwide estate.

1. Establish your goals in life

Your planner will work to understand your short, medium and long-term ambitions. We believe in goal-orientated financial planning at AES, to ensure you achieve everything you set out to.

2. Work out your assets and liabilities

Your planner will list your assets and liabilities today, and using cash flow modelling, they will look at future potential scenarios to help structure your plan to grab opportunities and avoid problems.

3. Evaluate your current financial position

How close are you to achieving your goals? Are you on track for any of your ambitions, are you opening yourself up to risk or excess tax? Your planner will look at every scenario with you.

4. Develop your plan

Having determined your goals, identified any threats or opportunities, and with a thorough understanding of you, your financial planner will create your road map for achieving each of your different goals.

5. Implement your plan

Once this map is discussed, honed and agreed upon, the plans will be put in place so you can make the changes needed and ensure your financial future is successful.

6. Monitor and review your plan

At least yearly and make adjustments when needed. Your planner will review and rebalance your portfolio, and assess and adjust your plan as needed to ensure you remain on track for a solid and successful future.

Personal finance is defined as the management of money and financial decisions for a person or family - including budgeting, investments, retirement planning and insurance. Therefore, personal financial planning and financial advice cover each of these elements in turn.

For high-performance executives and globally-minded, international families living in Dubai, financial planning also includes considering offshore banking, the essential international insurances like medical insurance, and guidance from a personal wealth planner (or CFO) to make the most of the increased risks and opportunities you’re exposed to.

If you already have or are on the way to achieving $1,000,000 of investable assets, a personal finance consultant can provide the strategic insights you need to grow and protect your wealth. We can help. AES is the only fiduciary, CEFEX certified, fee-based financial planning company in the AMEA region.

A business employing the services of a corporate financial planner may be able to offset their fees, but as an individual, it’s unlikely your personal financial planning fees will be tax deductible.

We are not taxation experts however, and because tax rules differ on a country-by-country basis, it would make sense to ask an accountant for advice about whether – in your personal circumstances – financial planning fees could be deducted from your tax liability, if you have one.

Whether they are deductible or not, it’s important for you to weigh up the value-to-expense-ratio of the fees. If a professional financial planner in Dubai will add significant value to your overall financial situation, then surely their fees are worth paying.

Significant value is gained by those who have complex financial planning needs and you will need to weigh up whether paying for a financial planner to help you, will make a positive, discernible difference or not.

If you already have or are well on your way to achieving $1,000,000 of investable assets, why not book a call - our team will answer any questions you may have and will be happy to help.

Quite simply, it is not in our interests to sign any client if we cannot help advance their financial position, therefore we will always be honest about whether we can increase your returns and improve your portfolio.

What are the fees for financial consultants in Dubai?

Unfortunately, many 'financial advisers' in Dubai are actually salespeople.

You can easily differentiate in the majority of cases by looking at their financial planning fees - salespeople don't charge a transparent fee for their service.

They instead take large, often hidden, commissions and perhaps even ongoing charges from their clients’ investment solutions.

Depending on the product they sell, the provider they choose, and the amount of money their client entrusts them with, their commission payments can be as much as 12% up front.

This has an immediate and ongoing impact on an affected investment, significantly increasing the cost of financial advice and potentially scuppering the best-laid financial plans.

Think of other professions like lawyers or accountants, who would charge a transparent fee rather than taking a commission. When considering your own financial future, ask yourself: how much does financial advice cost, and is it structured fairly? The right financial advice fees should be clear, upfront, and aligned with your best interests, ensuring that your financial planner is working for you - not for a commission.

How to find a chartered financial planner in Dubai

If you’d like to partner with a chartered financial planner in Dubai, you should prioritise looking for a fiduciary firm. Fiduciary basically means trusted.

At AES, this means you get the same advice we would give our family members. This sounds like common sense but it’s practice is extremely uncommon.

In fact, AES was the first and remains the only firm in the AMEA (Asia, the Middle East and Africa) region to meet this standard of excellence. That’s in a population of 5 billion+ people!

About AES

AES is a fee-based financial life management organisation, helping senior international professionals and their families apply the best ideas in finance to deliver better results - nothing less.

We take our responsibility to improve you and your family’s outcomes seriously, because we know your money represents your hard work and sacrifices, your hopes and dreams for the future.

AES also advocates education first, and we help you learn both the wisdom and the secrets the traditional industry doesn’t want you to know. Our reputation has been built on deep expertise, by applying academic research, scientific process and evidence to our work; we call our mission Positive Change - for which we have been commended by Richard Branson and The Economist.

Your partner for financial advice in Dubai

AES employ a team of highly qualified Chartered Financial Planners and Chartered Wealth Managers.

Additionally, we employ pension transfer specialists and retirement planning specialists authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and can draw on expertise covering every single element of finance – from lenders to private banks.

Independence

Ensure the financial adviser you choose is independent and not limited to recommend solutions from a restricted number of products or providers.

Testimonials and case studies

Professional qualifications

Fiduciary not salesperson

Responsive communication

Additional services

Transparent and fair fees

Trust

Get a will in place

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