DIFC Posts Record 2025 Results as Family Offices and AUM Surge

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DIFC's 2025 annual results show record growth: 8,844 active companies, family entities up 61%, and AUM last disclosed above $700 billion.

DIFC's 2025 annual results confirm record performance across active companies, revenues, profits and family-wealth registrations.
Active companies grew 28% to 8,844, with 2,525 new registrations - a 39% increase on the prior year.
AUM was last publicly disclosed at over $700 billion in mid-2024; the 2025 results do not publish a single updated figure but all underlying indicators point to continued growth.
Family-related entities surged 61% to 1,289 in 2025, including 1,115 foundations - a 66% year-on-year increase.
The DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2024 simplified Single Family Office setup, raising the net asset threshold to $50 million and removing the DNFBP registration requirement.
Major 2025 new entrants included PIMCO, Warburg Pincus, Manulife, Starwood Capital and Cambridge Associates.

How the DFSA Framework and Dubai's Global Rankings Are Anchoring the World's Wealth

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has built its reputation on a legal and regulatory environment that global institutions and private families find difficult to replicate elsewhere in the region. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), DIFC's independent regulator, enforces internationally aligned standards across banking, capital markets, asset management and private-wealth structures - all operating under an English-language common-law framework separate from the wider UAE legal system. Combined with zero corporate tax for DIFC-incorporated entities, no withholding tax and unrestricted capital repatriation, this framework has made the centre a compelling base for managers and families targeting the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region.

Recent reforms have sharpened DIFC's competitive edge further. The DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2024 streamlined Single Family Office (SFO) structuring and reduced administrative requirements significantly. Dubai's 11th-place ranking in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), and its status among the top four global FinTech hubs, provides independent external validation of the ecosystem's depth. The Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) - which targets a doubling of the emirate's economy and a place among the world's top four financial centres by 2033 - provides the strategic backdrop against which DIFC's record 2025 results should be read.

Record 2025 Results Across Every Key Metric

DIFC's full-year 2025 results, published in February 2026, confirmed record performance across the centre's core indicators. Active registered companies grew 28 percent year-on-year to 8,844, driven by 2,525 new registrations - a 39 percent increase on 2024. Combined revenues of DIFC-related entities rose 20 percent to AED 2.13 billion, while net profit climbed 28 percent to AED 1.48 billion from AED 1.16 billion the previous year.

More than 500 wealth and asset management companies now operate from DIFC, up 22 percent in 2025, alongside 102 hedge funds. Officials describe this as the largest concentration of hedge funds and alternative investment managers in the region, a claim supported by Arabian Business reporting. DIFC now hosts 1,052 regulated firms in total across banking, capital markets, insurance, brokerage and other financial services sectors.

AUM Above $700 Billion - and Still Growing

DIFC's 2025 annual results do not disclose a single updated assets under management (AUM) figure. The most recent publicly confirmed milestone, reported by The National News in mid-2024, was that AUM within the DIFC ecosystem had exceeded $700 billion - up 58 percent from $444 billion a year earlier. Given the scale of new company registrations, hedge fund arrivals and family-wealth structuring recorded in 2025, advisors and analysts broadly expect the current figure to be materially higher, though DIFC has not yet published a formal 2025 update.

The trajectory matters for firms and families considering DIFC as a base. The pace of AUM growth - from $444 billion to over $700 billion in roughly 12 months - reflects not just new manager arrivals but also organic growth in assets already booked in the centre. Previous data indicated that 69 of DIFC's 85 hedge funds operating in 2024 each managed assets exceeding $1 billion, underlining the institutional quality of the manager base.

Family Office Registrations Jump 61 Percent

The fastest-growing segment in DIFC's private-wealth ecosystem is family-related entities, which rose 61 percent in 2025 to reach 1,289. Foundations - legal vehicles widely used for asset holding, philanthropy and intergenerational succession - grew 66 percent year-on-year to 1,115. Earlier DIFC communications noted that more than 120 of the world's wealthiest families were represented in the centre, with aggregate net worth exceeding $1.2 trillion.

The DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2024 were a direct catalyst for this growth. The reforms raised the minimum net asset requirement for a Single Family Office (SFO) to $50 million, up from a prior threshold of $10 million, though this can be met through real estate, operating businesses and financial investments. SFOs serving only their own family members no longer need to register as Designated Non-Financial Businesses or Professions (DNFBPs), and a private register for family entities was introduced - changes that corporate services firms describe as substantially reducing setup friction. According to Ocorian, these amendments mark a new era for private wealth structuring within DIFC. Multi-family offices, or those providing regulated financial services to external clients, must still obtain a DFSA licence.

The DIFC Family Wealth Centre is deepening its service offering to these clients. A NextGen Leadership Programme is set to launch in 2026 to prepare the next generation of family business leaders with training in governance, investment management and intergenerational transition.

Global Institutions Continue to Expand Their DIFC Presence

New regulated entrants in 2025 included PIMCO, Warburg Pincus, Manulife, Starwood Capital, Cambridge Associates, Silver Point Capital, Allianz Trade, China International Capital Corporation and National Bank of Kuwait, among others. US firms now account for roughly 7 percent of all financial services companies that have operated in DIFC since its founding in 2004. Officials describe the centre as an emerging global hub for private credit and non-bank financial intermediation, roles reinforced by collaboration with the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

Singapore-headquartered CapitaLand Investment, for example, recently established CapitaLand (DIFC) Limited to provide investment-advisory services across logistics, lodging, office and data-centre strategies to institutional and accredited investors across the UAE and the wider Gulf, as reported by UAE Advisor Guide. The breadth of new arrivals - spanning traditional asset managers, alternative specialists, insurers and reinsurers - reflects the diversification of DIFC beyond its original banking and capital markets core.

Infrastructure and Innovation Capacity Scale to Meet Demand

To accommodate continued growth, DIFC is investing heavily in physical expansion. The Zabeel District development will add 17.7 million square feet of office, residential, hospitality, retail and educational space, and the first 600,000 square feet of new commercial space was scheduled for handover by end of February 2026, with further phases completing through 2027. Officials argue the pipeline is essential to maintain high occupancy while creating capacity for the next wave of wealth managers, hedge funds and family office service providers.

DIFC's innovation segment is growing in parallel, with 1,677 AI, FinTech and innovation entities registered in 2025 - up 35 percent year-on-year - and start-ups in the ecosystem having collectively raised more than $4.5 billion. The centre's workforce reached 50,200 financial-services professionals in 2025, a 9 percent increase, providing the specialist talent that multi-jurisdictional mandates increasingly require. On the regulatory side, proposed Variable Capital Company regulations and amendments to DIFC's insolvency and employment laws are designed to keep its framework aligned with international best practice as the centre continues to scale.

What Clients are Asking their Advisors

What is a Single Family Office in DIFC and who qualifies to set one up?

A Single Family Office (SFO) in DIFC is a private structure that manages wealth exclusively for one family, covering investments, real estate, succession planning and philanthropy. Under the DIFC Family Arrangements Regulations 2024, families must demonstrate aggregate net assets of at least $50 million to qualify. This threshold can be met through a combination of real estate, operating businesses and financial investments held through trusts, foundations or holding companies.

Does a DIFC family office still need DFSA authorisation after the 2024 regulatory changes?

A Single Family Office serving only its own family members does not require authorisation from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). The 2024 reforms also removed the previous requirement for SFOs to register as Designated Non-Financial Businesses or Professions (DNFBPs). However, any family office serving external clients or providing regulated financial services must obtain a separate DFSA licence.

How does DIFC compare with ADGM for setting up a family office in the UAE?

Both DIFC and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) offer competitive tax and structuring frameworks, English-language common-law courts and zero corporate tax. DIFC currently hosts a larger concentration of family-wealth entities, hedge funds and alternative managers, and its Family Wealth Centre provides dedicated support services. Advisors typically weigh deal-flow access, existing professional networks and specific structuring requirements when comparing the two.

What does the surge in DIFC family office registrations mean for new entrants considering Dubai?

The 61% growth in family-related entities in 2025 signals strong demand for DIFC's legal and tax framework, but it also means greater competition for prime office space, specialist talent and deal flow. DIFC is expanding its physical footprint significantly, with new commercial space coming online through 2027. Families and managers considering entry should factor in setup timelines, the $50 million net asset threshold for SFOs, and the availability of qualified local advisors.