Rothchild & Co will operate under a Dubai Financial Services Authority category 4 licence in DIFC. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Rothchild & Co will operate under a Dubai Financial Services Authority category 4 licence in DIFC. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Rothschild taps Swiss banker to lead new wealth management office in Dubai



Rothschild & Co, the global wealth and asset management firm, is expanding its wealth management business in Dubai with a new office, amid a significant rise in the number of affluent people choosing to live in the emirate and the wider region.

With wealth and asset management assets totalling more than €100 billion ($105.8 billion), the company serves its clients from offices in various countries including France, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Spain and Luxembourg.

Operating under a Dubai Financial Services Authority category 4 licence in the Dubai International Financial Centre, the new office will cater to ultra-high-net-worth families, entrepreneurs, charities and foundations, said the financial services firm, specialising in investment banking, wealth and asset management.

Headed by senior banker Sascha Benz, who relocated from Switzerland, the Dubai office will boost access to advisers in the UAE while benefiting from support by the Geneva-based Middle East team.

“We are excited to be able to strengthen our presence in the Middle East with our new office in Dubai. With … existing broad network of qualified clients among local investors, business owners and wealthy local and international families, we are confident of growing a strong wealth management client base in the region,” said Laurent Gagnebin, chief executive of Rothschild & Co’s wealth management business in Switzerland.

Creating a presence in the UAE is a strategic move for Rothschild & Co’s wealth management growth strategy to invest in markets where it has an established network and reputation, the company said.

The move reflects the UAE's rising appeal as a global financial centre, driven by its strategic location, business-friendly policies and strong regulatory framework.

The Emirates’ measures to attract foreign investment, combined with its position as a gateway to the broader Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions, make it attractive for global financial firms.

On Monday, BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, announced it has been granted a commercial licence to operate in Abu Dhabi.

In September, Stonepeak, a US-based alternative investment company with $71.2 billion of assets under management, received regulatory approval to set up a base in the Abu Dhabi Global Market to arrange and advise on investment opportunities in the UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy.

Also in September, the ADGM welcomed its first trillion-dollar asset managers: PGIM, the global asset management business of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Prudential Financial, and Chicago investment firm Nuveen, with both aiming to expand their operations and client bases in the Middle East.

Rothchild & Co’s global advisory business is one of the leading independent financial advisory firms in the Middle East, where it has been providing expert merger and acquisition, debt advice and restructuring, and equity advice to various clients for nearly 20 years.

“The expansion will enable us to directly and strategically provide holistic advice to families and entrepreneurs on their long term journey,” said Saeed Al Awar, partner and head of Middle East at Rothschild & Co.

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

Islamic%20Architecture%3A%20A%20World%20History
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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Frida%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarla%20Gutierrez%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Frida%20Kahlo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Soldier F

“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.

“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.

“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”

Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson

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Book%20Details
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In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

Can NRIs vote in the election?

Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad

Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency

There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas

Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas

A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians

Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.

This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India

A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians

However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed

The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas

Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online

The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online

The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

'Lost in Space'

Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen

Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins

Rating: 4/5

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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Updated: November 19, 2024, 5:49 PM