Assets under management across the Gulf grew 10% over the past year to AED 9.9 trillion, marking the strongest performance in over a decade, according to a Boston Consulting Group report.
The retail segment outpaced institutional growth, expanding 14% compared with 9% for institutional assets, although institutional holdings still account for 93% of the region's total AuM against 7% for retail.
The UAE held the second-highest share of retail mutual funds and ETFs in the Gulf and broader Middle East, trailing Saudi Arabia and ahead of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia's GOSI-PPA remains the region's largest pension fund, while the Kuwait Investment Authority leads among sovereign wealth funds by externally managed assets, followed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
BCG identified AI adoption and tokenisation as key forces reshaping the industry, projecting tokenised real-world assets could reach USD 14 trillion globally by 2030, with potential cost reductions of 25-35% for asset managers over the next three to five years.
Gulf Economist Staff Writer