Global wealth leaders gathered in Dubai for the Family Office Summit, where the narrative shifted decisively from capital preservation to aggressive modernisation. With the ecosystem now managing over $1.2 trillion in assets, the event highlighted a critical evolution in how private wealth is tackling governance, artificial intelligence and the separation of legacy business from investment capital.
As the emirate cements its status as a hub for private capital, the profile of attendees suggests a maturation of the market. Obediah Ayton, chairman of the Family Office Summit, noted that the region is moving beyond its initial growth phase into a period of sophisticated structuring.
“The quality of family businesses and offices, we’ve seen a massive uptick,” Ayton explained. He attributed this to a surge in curiosity from established markets, including Switzerland, but emphasised that the most pressing conversation is internal. “The big key in the theme of the summit today was the separation of family business and wealth. Sometimes people just get so distracted in the family business, that kind of separation of wealth never happens.”
This structural evolution is creating a demand for specialised talent, particularly as families diversify into complex asset classes like private credit and virtual assets. Oscar Orellana-Hyder, co-founder of executive search firm Cordell Partners, observed that the influx of new organisations is reshaping the labour market.
“There’s a 20 per cent increase on new entrants coming in… that’s from Asia managers coming through, European GPs and LP community,” Orellana-Hyder said. However, he warned that finding the right people to manage these new structures remains a hurdle in a relatively young jurisdiction. “It’s a shallow pool… exhaust the talent that’s on the ground, try and find that unicorn that’s an Arabic speaker, that has parents here, that’s been in the industry.”
Generational Drift Toward Digital
A recurring theme throughout the summit was the influence of the ‘next generation’ of family members, who are driving a departure from traditional real estate and construction holdings toward technology and digital assets. Orellana-Hyder added: “The generational shift is clear for everyone to see. The younger generation wants exposure or has an appetite to virtual assets, hedge funds, private credits.”
This sentiment was echoed by Tim Heath, founder of Yolo Investments, who argued that family offices are finally shedding their historical reluctance regarding fintech. Heath suggested that the sector has matured enough to offer both security and growth, making it a viable component of a diversified portfolio.
“We’re not using fax machines. We don’t use chequebooks,” Heath commented on the inevitability of digital financial adoption. He pointed specifically to stablecoins as a critical infrastructure for future commerce, describing them as “programmatic” money that offers precision unavailable in fiat currency. “It’s a new way of thinking how money can move… We will get to a stage where you won’t be carrying physical money, and some countries are moving towards that a lot quicker than others.”
Heath also addressed the integration of artificial intelligence within investment firms, describing a new hierarchy of roles. “You’ve got your prompters and you’ve got your code guardians and then your agent,” he explained, suggesting that prompting is becoming a core business skill. “The prompters is the business owner… who knows what they want to see.”
Managing Risk in a Volatile Era
While the appetite for risk assets is growing, the macroeconomic backdrop remains unpredictable. Razane Ramzi, market analyst at Forex.com, part of the StoneX Group, highlighted that families are having to adopt more active strategies to navigate global volatility.
“Diversification is essential given the high volatility environments, given the high political and geopolitical risk across the globe,” Ramzi said. She noted that asset classes previously considered passive, such as fixed income, now require active management due to shifting global policies.
Ramzi also touched on the dual nature of AI as both an investment target and an operational tool. While acknowledging concerns about displacement, she framed the technology as an amplifier of human capability rather than a substitute. “Humans… using AI to be able to amplify our skills is currently the best way to go,” she stated. “AI has the ability to replace lots of jobs globally… but from our perspective we can give it a more human touch that is able to connect with the industries.”
Looking Ahead
The summit, which hosted over 250 attendees including 81 family offices, concluded with a focus on geographic diversification. Discussions highlighted Hong Kong as a strategic gateway for technology investments, while growing collaboration between UAE families and Asian markets signals a broader horizon for capital deployment.
For Ayton, the trajectory is clear: the region is no longer just attracting wealth, it is professionalising it. “They want to do business with the world,” he said, hinting at future expansion into Saudi Arabia. “They’ve got the intriguing, we have to try Saudi Arabia… the opportunity is even bigger.”
