FACE VALUE | Ishrat Kiyani
‘Suitcase Banker
is a Thing of the Past’
Ishrat Kiyani, Head of Mashreq Gold, tells
Wealth Monitor regional wealth managers are
focusing more on local markets, than offshore
destinations, for investment opportunities
8
Given the current market
conditions, what will 2016
look like for the UAE and
the Arabian Gulf wealth
management sector?
The wealth management
industry is entering an exciting
stage in the UAE and the Gulf
region. This, to a large degree,
is driven by the global events,
such as the slowing down of
China’s economy, pressure on
the US Fed to increase interest
rates, and of course the low
crude oil prices.
In the GCC region, the shift
in the wealth management
business is also driven by the
fact that over the past decade
this region has earned its status
as a global financial hub. The
growth opportunities for wealth
management in the GCC are
immense. Over the last 10 years,
the huge boom in crude oil
prices has generated wealth
creation both at an individual
as well as government level
(in the form of sovereign
wealth funds or SWFs).
Interestingly, we are seeing
a new development in the
regional wealth management
sector. Until a few years ago, a
major chunk of clients’ money
tended to be invested abroad
in global markets for higher
yield. Of late, there’s been a
shift in this trend because of the
fact that the competition for
wealth management business is
intensifying in the region with
many local as well as global
banks vying for a share of the
pie and to expand their local
presence.
That’s why we see the life of
the ‘suitcase banker’ being a
thing of the past now. Earlier,
wealth managers and private
bankers used to travel out of the
Gulf region for business purpose
as the target of investment was
outside the region. There was
www.wealth-monitor.com | April 2016