Following a $600 million fintech company exit, a 42-year-old UAE entrepreneur faced dangerous concentration risks with 60% in UAE real estate, 25% in GCC public equities, and 15% in cash deposits. His concerns were multifaceted: protecting newfound wealth from volatility, diversifying beyond regional comfort zones, building disciplined investment processes to replace “gut instinct” decisions, ensuring Sharia compliance for his assets while maintaining competitive returns, and reducing his 20+ weekly hours managing investments to focus on his next venture.
We designed comprehensive wealth structuring spanning Dubai and London operations. Our structural foundation established a private trust company in DIFC for asset holding with a parallel Sharia-compliant sub-trust certified by recognised scholars. We implemented tax-efficient cross-jurisdictional structures while maintaining operational simplicity and established family governance protocols for intergenerational transfer. Our goals-based strategic allocation segmented the portfolio across four objectives: liquidity (10%), core income (40%), growth (40%), and impact (10%). Implementation included global diversification reducing MENA exposure from 85% to 35%, alternative access through Finnix Wealth’s London relationships securing institutional co-investment opportunities, systematic currency hedging reducing volatility by 180 basis points, and quarterly rebalancing with tax-loss harvesting optimisation.
Results validated our comprehensive approach across all dimensions. Portfolio volatility was maintained below 6% during challenging 2024 markets compared to 12% for his previous concentration. Net annual returns reached 11.4% versus 7.2% for comparable regional portfolios, adding approximately $25 million in first-year outperformance. Operational efficiency improved dramatically with client investment time reduced from 20+ weekly hours to quarterly 2-hour reviews – a 95% reduction. Strategic progress included successful deployment of $183 million in alternatives and comprehensive insurance plus estate planning structures protecting family wealth with clear succession pathways.
