Fund and asset management · SCA / DFSA / FSRA
UAE fund manager licensing (SCA, DIFC and ADGM)
The United Arab Emirates offers three distinct routes to a fund management licence: the onshore regime supervised by the Securities and Commodities Authority, and the two financial free zones, each with its own common law framework and its own regulator. The choice between them shapes everything from the investors you can approach to the law your contracts run under.
The regulator
The DIFC and ADGM operate independent common law systems with their own courts and regulators, which is why so many international managers choose them over the onshore regime. All three authorities have raised standards as Gulf capital has become a global fundraising priority.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the SCA / DFSA / FSRA
- Manage funds and discretionary mandates from a UAE base
- Approach Gulf sovereign, institutional, and family office capital
- Operate under common law in the DIFC or ADGM
- Establish domestic fund vehicles in the chosen regime
Who it suits
Managers raising from Gulf capital, and international firms establishing a regional presence close to sovereign wealth and family office allocators.
Market access
Access to UAE and Gulf investors. Marketing beyond the region follows the rules of each target jurisdiction.
What to weigh
The three regimes are genuinely different rather than variations on a theme, and choosing on cost alone frequently produces the wrong one. Local presence expectations are real in all of them.
We run the United Arab Emirates application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in United Arab Emirates
Related reading
- Fund Manager or Investment Firm? Choosing the Right Asset-Management AuthorisationManaging mandates and managing funds are different regulated activities under different regimes. Applying under the wrong one costs a year and a rejection.
- The MiFID Investment Firm Licence: What the Permissions Actually CoverA MiFID licence is not one permission but a set you choose from. The combination you pick sets your capital, your obligations, and your supervisory weight.
- Licensing an Investment-Management Firm: What Changes When You Manage Other People's MoneyRunning an asset or portfolio manager sits under a different permission than broking. Here is what the licence covers and what regulators expect.
- EU Passporting Explained: One Licence, Thirty MarketsA single EU investment-firm licence works across the whole European Economic Area. Here is how passporting works and why it shapes where firms base.
Fund and asset management in other Middle East & Africa jurisdictions
All jurisdictionsDiscuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
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