Equipping Gulf family offices for institutional-grade investing

• Family offices seek private markets growth
• Direct deals versus funds now even
• ADGM Academy trains future investment talent

Family offices have thrived on trusted relationships and long-term instincts for generations. Now they are reinventing themselves as sophisticated investment powerhouses in a bid to unlock new sources of growth.

That evolution is creating demand for investment skills found in global financial institutions, as younger generations look beyond traditional family holdings towards technology, private markets and other alternative assets.

ADGM Academy, the knowledge arm of Abu Dhabi’s ADGM financial centre, is supporting the development of finance professionals who can meet the changing needs of family offices through its School of Wealth and Asset Management (SWAM). 

“Family offices are increasingly global, diversified and governance-led, heightening the need for professional capital allocation and robust oversight of decisions,” says Ali Al Mehairi, executive director of ADGM Academy.  

In the Gulf, experts say family offices are less likely than ever to passively manage assets through traditional portfolios overseen by external managers, and instead seek opportunities in areas such as private equity, venture capital, real estate, AI, renewables, infrastructure and private credit. 

Al Nowais Investments, the family office of Abu Dhabi’s Al Nowais family, is one such example, holding sizeable equity stakes in companies as diverse as AMEA Power, Danway Industries and Rotana Hotel Management Corporation, among others.

“As family offices become more institutionalised, many are broadening how they deploy capital by increasing exposure to private markets, direct investments and co-investment opportunities alongside traditional managed solutions,” says Aboudi Najia, co-head of UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman at Swiss private bank Lombard Odier. 

Globally, family offices have pulled back from direct deals in favour of funds over the past five years, according to UBS’s 2026 Global Family Office Report covering 307 family offices with an average net worth of $2.7 billion. In 2021, they allocated 13 percent to direct investments against 8 percent to funds. Today, the split has narrowed to roughly even. 

The Gulf stands out for its proactive approach to reallocating capital, the report says, “potentially driven by both opportunity and the need to navigate global uncertainty”.

Najia says many regional family offices are moving beyond relationship-based investing, characterised by personal introductions and long-term value alignment, towards formal governance and professionalised, “institutional-grade” investing – although trusted partnerships remain important. 

The term “institutional grade” refers to family offices adopting the governance and risk management practices associated with institutional investors. These include formal investment committees, strategic asset allocation, diversification, structured decision making and professional investment expertise. 

Larger family offices are building experienced teams that can evaluate opportunities, conduct due diligence and make decisions with greater conviction, Najia says. 

A broader investment lens

Investment priorities are evolving, too, driven by the preferences of younger family members succeeding first- or second-generation leaders. 

“A common theme of the current and next generations is their international investment influences from the East as well as the West,” says Thomas Hudson, adviser to Abu Dhabi Investment Office, part of the emirate’s Department of Economic Development. 

“They have an interest in Silicon Valley and want to invest in AI, the future of mobility, health and wellness,” he says. “We’re seeing them setting up structures like VC funds or investing in international companies and bringing them locally.”

“The result is a broader investment lens that combines commercial rigour with long-term strategic and personal priorities,” adds Najia.

Family offices in the UAE completed venture capital investment deals worth about AED11 billion ($3 billion) between July 2024 and June 2025, rising 15-fold over the previous period and ranking third after the US and UK, according to PwC’s latest Global Family Office Deals Study.

The UAE was also a top performer for family office private equity deals over the same period, ranking sixth behind the US, UK, Italy, France and Germany with total deal value reaching about $5 billion over the same period – from zero in the previous period – according to the report.

International networks, local advantage

As Gulf family offices mature, the region – especially Abu Dhabi – is attracting investors, advisers and family offices from elsewhere in the world, says Hudson. 

Offices in ADGM, the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, have been established by Singapore-based RB Capital/Royal Holdings, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio’s Dalio Family Office, as well as many others.

“We see international and local family offices as two sides of the same coin and are working to ensure mutual dialogue on ideas and co-investing,” says Hudson. One “well-known American family” came to Abu Dhabi recently and partnered with a local family to invest in their new fund, now headquartered in ADGM, he says. “This is about growing the ecosystem.” 

Historically, many families believed they needed to be based in financial centres such as London, New York or Geneva to access high-quality investment opportunities and expertise, according to Najia. “Today, they recognise they can leverage [this] from the Gulf.”

Scimitar, the family office of former Apollo Global Management chief executive Leon Black, has set up in Abu Dhabi. Its chairman Asad Hussaini says there are attractive opportunities regionally in private credit, public equities and real estate. 

Hussaini says that family investors are taking advantage of temporary price drops in traditional assets amid geopolitical uncertainty, as well as spotting attractive entry points for other asset classes. 

“A lot of local families are coming off the sidelines and being quite opportunistic in this regard,” he says. 

“Younger leaders in particular are more aggressively seeking out technology and higher-yielding investments via private structures.” 

Nuanced decision-making 

But as family offices become larger and more sophisticated, skills gaps are emerging. Hussaini asks: “Do people have what it takes to build these nuanced investing strategies?”

That is where SWAM comes in, drawing on global research and market insight to help professionals understand the specific responsibilities of managing family wealth. It provides accredited courses on family office investment strategy and alternative assets, wealth management and other relevant training.

“The transformation of family offices into institutional-grade investment organisations is creating demand for a new generation of investment professionals with the technical expertise, governance mindset and strategic judgement needed to navigate increasingly complex markets,” ADGM Academy’s Al Mehairi says. 

The opportunity is to develop professionals who can combine technical investment expertise with the judgement, governance awareness and stakeholder understanding required in a family office environment, he adds.

“Building this talent pipeline will be critical to supporting sustainable growth and preserving wealth across generations.”

Further reading:

• Strengthening governance inside Gulf family businesses

Demand for experienced CIOs and senior investment professionals is likely to continue outpacing supply, Hudson says. 

“From training the next generation to people switching careers, everybody is an investor nowadays. There’s an opportunity for more and more people to be upskilled in this area.” 

Click here to find out more about ADGM Academy’s School of Wealth and Asset Management’s many courses, including Family Office Investment Strategy & Alternative Assets and the Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management Programme.