Assets under management of fund managers and financial institutions in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a global financial hub, are estimated to reach $250 billion by 2024, up from $10.4 billion in 2014, said top official.

“The Mena region domiciles nine of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with assets of approximately $2 trillion,” added Arif Amiri, deputy CEO, at Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC Authority).

He was commenting on DIFC’s participation at the four-day FundForum International 2015 in Monaco.

The annual fund management conference, taking place from June 29 to July 2 at ‘The Grimaldi Forum’, serves as a thought-leadership platform on subjects such as boutique funds, future of crowdfunding, and the adoption of technology to optimize client servicing.

The gathering of fund managers, which also co-locates an exhibition centre to promote networking, has drawn the attendance of more than 1,200 senior level attendees, including some 600 plus key asset managers, and over 70 leading CEOs, CIOs and boardroom leaders.

A long-standing exhibitor at the forum, the platform serves as a facilitator for DIFC to leverage discussions with leading fund managers on the increasing potential of the asset management sector in Dubai and the wider region.

In addition, as part of their efforts to showcase the Centre’s enabling investment ecosystem, key DIFC representatives attending the forum seek to highlight the financial hub’s strategic access to emerging markets, as well as efficient financial systems and conducive legal and regulatory framework.

“The FundForum International provides a unique platform on a global scale for meeting decision-makers and presenting them with DIFC’s decade-long economic growth story and key competitive advantages,” Amiri said.

“Dubai’s increased emphasis on diversifying the economy to curtail dependence on oil has led to significant redistribution of wealth. Fund managers have been the beneficiaries in this transition of investment re-allocation. Since their introduction only a decade ago in the DIFC, the asset management industry has been incredibly successful,” he added.

“The number of High Net-worth Individuals (HNWIs) across the region, both institutional and private wealth, has advanced significantly,” Amiri noted.

“Rising income level combined with lower inflation rates have led to an increase in the aggregate savings of the population across the region. We, therefore, see tremendous scope for the development of long-term savings and wealth solutions catering to the increasingly affluent and aspirational young population.”

According to the 2014 World Wealth Report., the number of HNWIs across the Middle East  surged by 16.0 per cent in 2013 to 0.6 million, while total wealth reserves also registered an increase by 16.7 per cent to $2.1 trillion. Moreover, a PwC 2014 study unveiled that assets under management in the Middle East and Africa region are expected to rise to an estimated $1.5 trillion by 2020, from a total of $0.6 trillion in 2012 - representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12 per cent.

Set up in 2004, DIFC today domiciles 365 financial firms, which includes 21 of the world’s 25 biggest banks and 11 of the top 20 money managers. The Centre, meanwhile, also recorded double-digit growth in 2014, with the strength of skilled workforce rising 14 percent to 18,000. - TradeArabia News Service