DIFC strengthens family wealth with new Strategic Advisory Committee

The move coincides with the UAE’s official designation of 2026 as the ‘Year of the Family’ and the National Family Growth Agenda 2031, which recognises the vital role of families and provides a strategic framework to ensure their stability and prosperity.

As the UAE’s largest family ecosystem, DIFC is home to more than 1,250 family-related entities supported by over 600 partners, including private banks, wealth and asset management firms, law firms and advisory companies.

DIFC Family Wealth Centre

Collectively, the top 120 families operating out of DIFC manage more than $1.2tn in assets globally, making a significant contribution to the UAE economy.

Family businesses in the UAE form a bedrock of economic activity, driving around 60 per cent of GDP and employing 80 per cent of the national workforce.

Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: “DIFC continues to be at forefront of enabling families to contribute to our society, ensuring they succeed and prosper. Through the efforts of the DIFC Family Wealth Centre, sound guidance from partners and world-class structures that support growth, DIFC solidifies Dubai as the preeminent destination for second and third-generation families locally, regionally, and increasingly – globally.

“The DIFC Family Wealth Centre is emerging as a cornerstone of the private wealth landscape.”

Supporting these entities, the Strategic Advisory Committee will guide the DIFC Family Wealth Centre by promoting best practices in family governance, succession planning and wealth preservation.

Its remit includes providing access to top-tier experts, advisors and service providers, delivering training solutions for educational programmes, and offering high-quality frameworks for wealth and family business structures with strong privacy standards.

The initiative is designed to further strengthen DIFC’s position as a leading hub for private wealth and family business advisory.

Family wealth strategy

Serving in an advisory capacity, the Committee will help shape the Centre’s strategic direction and priorities, offer expert and unbiased insights to enhance DIFC’s family wealth offerings, and contribute thought leadership on global trends affecting family wealth.

It will also support outreach, knowledge-sharing, networking, collaboration and education across the ecosystem.

The activation of the Strategic Advisory Committee follows several landmark initiatives and partnerships launched at the recently held DIFC Family Wealth Centre Summit, reinforcing Dubai’s position as the MEASA region’s premier destination for family wealth, next-generation leadership and succession planning.

Research continues to underline the evolving role of family offices. A whitepaper by BlackRock notes that many family offices seek collaboration with external partners to achieve investment goals, particularly in private markets and emerging technologies.

A separate study by BNY Wealth suggests family offices are frequently at the cutting edge of new investment trends, including private markets and digital assets.

In 2025 alone, members of the DIFC Family Wealth Centre benefitted from more than 30 exclusive events, workshops, roundtables and publications.

Delivered in association with DIFC partners, these initiatives covered family office structuring, succession planning, alternative investment strategies, artificial intelligence frameworks, philanthropy, global taxation and governance.

Such efforts strengthen Dubai’s position as a leading jurisdiction for wealth, governance and succession by providing families with structured governance support, regulatory clarity, Golden Visa and licensing facilitation, curated education and high-level networking within DIFC.

Family businesses in Dubai

DIFC’s commitment to family-related entities is longstanding, with support provided since the Centre’s establishment in 2004 through foundations, holding companies, managing offices, private trust companies and proprietary investment entities.

The introduction of the DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2023 further affirmed Dubai’s dedication to facilitating the efficient management and governance of family wealth, enhancing transparency, stability and trust within the family office ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the DIFC Family Wealth Centre will expand its annual Summit in May 2026, with the event set to take place during Dubai Future Finance Week.