An increasing number of individuals from the finance sector are being drawn to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including from Switzerland, as many local financial institutions have set up operations in Dubai and sometimes also in Abu Dhabi. The reasons behind the attractiveness of this emerging region are clear, as shown by a study conducted by the Swiss private bank Lombard Odier (LO).

Around 40 percent of the surveyed expatriates primarily cite high quality of life and investment opportunities as the main reasons for relocation. Younger people (almost 30 percent) are particularly settling for business reasons, such as benefiting from the strong regulatory or legal frameworks of the region, or to start a startup (25 percent).

A quarter of expatriates also indicated a permanent settlement in the region, a figure that reaches nearly 50 percent among those over 51 years old.

Language Barriers and Cultural Differences

However, the survey highlights certain risks that expatriates face, including difficulties in finding the right asset manager (mentioned by almost 50 percent of respondents), overcoming language barriers and differences in corporate culture (37 percent), and concerns about losses due to market fluctuations or geopolitical risks (23 percent).

In addition to these challenges, many expatriates' knowledge of their tax situation appears to be very limited, as stated in the study. In this context, the authors of the survey also note that over 60 percent of expatriates have not yet made tax or estate planning arrangements for their children abroad.

Demand for Sustainable Real Estate

In this sense, the demand for expert asset management among expatriates in the UAE has significantly increased, with more than half of the respondents (53 percent) preferring private banks for their estate planning; this percentage is even higher among older individuals (65 percent). The trend of many expatriates wanting to buy properties in the UAE also suggests that investments in sustainable assets can be attractive as well.

• The study by Lombard Odier is based on the statements of a total of 150 affluent expatriates in the United Arab Emirates, with field research conducted in collaboration with the law firm M/HQ and the Swiss Business Council.