Having spent nearly 20 years in the UAE’s financial industry, I have been asked the same question more times than I can count — Pankaj, what should I check before I deal with a financial advisor or a brokerage firm?
I have answered it across dinner tables, in chapter meetings, and in the quiet conversations that happen after someone has been burned and wishes they had asked sooner. So I thought it was time to put it down in one place, refreshed for today’s Dubai.
A few honest words first. I am not a lawyer, and on this page I am not your personal financial advisor. What follows is general guidance from years of watching investors do things well, and watching others learn the hard way. Treat it as a checklist, not as legal or financial advice. The rules also vary by where your firm operates — onshore Mainland UAE is regulated by the SCA, DIFC by the DFSA, and ADGM by the FSRA. Where you transact matters as much as with whom.
Before you sign anything
Start with the licence — two checks, not one. The firm must be licensed by the relevant regulator, and the individual sitting across from you must be personally authorised to advise on the product they are recommending. Check the regulator’s public register directly, not the firm’s website. And confirm the licence covers the product type. An insurance licence is not an investment licence — that distinction has caught many smart people off guard.
Read the Client Agreement. All of it. The pages no one wants to read are the pages that will matter most if something goes wrong — scope of advice, fees, termination clause, complaints procedure, governing law and jurisdiction. If a commitment is verbal-only, it does not exist.
Insist on full fee disclosure in writing. The headline number is rarely the full picture. There are front-end loads, ongoing trail commissions, performance fees, and exit charges. Certain insurance-wrapped investment plans in this region carry surrender penalties in the early years that can erase a meaningful share of your principal. Ask for the total cost of ownership over the full term you are committing to, not just the first-year number.
Ask for a documented suitability assessment. A risk profile, KYC, and a written rationale showing why each recommendation fits your objectives, your time horizon, and your risk tolerance. This is not a formality. It is the single strongest piece of evidence in your favour if a dispute ever arises.
During the relationship
Know who custodies your money. Funds and securities should sit with a regulated third-party custodian in segregated client accounts — not in the advisory firm’s own accounts. Statements should arrive directly from the custodian, not only from your advisor.Know what kind of mandate you have signed. Advisory means you approve every trade. Discretionary means they can act without asking. Be deliberate about which one you are giving, and limit the scope of any Power of Attorney you grant.
Keep a paper trail. Recommendations in writing — email is fine — confirmations of every transaction, and your own copies of every signed document. Never sign blank or partially completed forms. I have seen otherwise careful people skip this one because they trusted the relationship. Trust is wonderful. Documentation is what protects the trust.
Ask about conflicts of interest. Is the advisor tied to specific product providers? What commissions are paid on what they recommend? Are they independent or restricted? Most regulators require this to be disclosed. Ask anyway, and ask early.
Things that should make you pause
Guaranteed returns. “Risk-free” high yield. Pressure to decide quickly.
Requests to transfer funds to personal accounts or wallets instead of the firm’s regulated client account.
Reluctance to provide written documentation, regulatory references, or audited fund factsheets.
Anyone asking you for OTPs, banking passwords, or signed blank documents.
These are not subtle signals. They are the signals.
If something does go wrong
You have more recourse than people realise. Complain in writing to the firm first — most regulators require this step, and it often resolves the matter on its own. Then escalate to the regulator: SCA, DFSA, FSRA, or the relevant Central Bank or insurance authority, depending on the product. Cooling-off periods exist on many products in this region — often around 30 days for insurance-wrapped investment plans. If you are still inside that window, you have the right to use it.
For larger commitments, a one-off independent legal review of the agreement before you sign is, in my experience, money well spent.
“Trust is wonderful. Documentation is what protects the trust.”
A closing thought
Dubai has built one of the more robust regulatory ecosystems in the region, and the investor who does the basic homework is well protected here. The professionals doing this work properly will welcome every one of the questions above — those are the people you want to work with for the long term. The ones who flinch are telling you something important without having to say it.
If this is helpful, and you would like to talk through a specific situation, my door is open.
Pankaj Gupta
Executive Director, BNI Deira Dubai
