http://www.mei.edu/content/wealth-management-industry-middle-east-boon-or-bust
The dramatic changes in the sources of Middle Eastern wealth — and relatively lack-lustre returns on equities in global equity markets — probably drove the Western broker-dealer to enter Middle Eastern markets more aggressively, rather than to wait for the Middle East’s ultra-wealthy to come to them in Europe. On the figure, we show some of the many announcements by foreign broker-dealers who increased staff or investments in wealth management offerings in the Middle East or both. As of 2012, most of their major global banks offer wealth management and private banking in the Middle East.
Global investment houses have expanded their offerings in the Middle East. Such entry — particularly by foreign wealth management firms — exacerbates an already existing tendency for investors in the MENA region to invest abroad. Middle Easterners send roughly 70% of their wealth overseas, as opposed to the US and Japan’s 3% and Western Europe’s 25% (Maude, 2006). More recent estimates by the Boston Consulting Group place the off-shoring of wealth management-related assets at about 50% (Becerra, 2011).
