As Gulf markets build out sophisticated wealth ecosystems, the longstanding trend of offshore asset management is beginning to reverse. With over 70% of regional wealth still booked abroad, platforms and policymakers are now accelerating efforts to localise financial services and position the GCC as a hub for next-generation wealth innovation.
In this conversation, Roger Rouhana, CEO of Alpheya, breaks down what’s changing, and what still needs to happen. He explains the core ingredients of a world-class financial centre, why UAE is finally closing the product gap with Switzerland, and how artificial intelligence is reshaping the client-advisor relationship.
From Vision Pro-powered avatars to co-pilot models enhancing human advisers, Rouhana outlines how the future of wealth will be defined not just by who manages capital, but how.
Why is so much wealth still held offshore and what will it take to bring it back to the region?
Well, that’s a two-plus-trillion-dollar question. It’s a very good question.
If you think about what it takes to have a great financial centre and a financial hub where wealth can be managed, it takes a few ingredients. If you look at Switzerland, the UK, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and Singapore, it takes political stability. It takes a stable and friendly regulatory framework. It takes some lineage to wealth, having wealth around. It takes an openness to the world. And it takes a strong ecosystem that can welcome and manage wealth and all the things that come with it.
Historically, all those ingredients weren’t necessarily in place. So, 10, 20, 30 years ago, money was being managed offshore because there were simply better places, more stable, with better ecosystems, etc. That’s why you ended up with a situation where 70% of the wealth generated here is managed offshore.
Fast forward to now, and when you look at that list, we’re starting to rate very well. I can’t think of a more stable place than the UAE. I can’t think of a place more open to the world than the UAE. It’s good to live here. It’s stable. There is a lot of political will around orienting the UAE as a financial hub.
So then you’re left with the question: do we have the right ecosystem to host that wealth?
That’s where there is still work needed, particularly when it comes to technology and the quality of relationship managers and advice in general. Because you have strong institutions. Banks are considered safe. You have gradually better access to products.
One of the main reasons people liked to go to Switzerland and book in Switzerland was because they had better access to products. We’re closing that gap here—structured notes, alternative assets, etc.
However, for me, the bulk of the work required is enhancing the quality of the advice and, more broadly, the entire tech stack that comes with wealth management.
To answer your question more directly, there were good reasons in the past for managing wealth offshore. However, over the next two to four years, I think we’ll continue to see what we’ve seen recently, repatriation of wealth.
And not just repatriation from people who live here but also people from abroad choosing to have their wealth managed here. Because we’re seeing, and hopefully, we’re part of the transformation, what was previously missing is the strength of the ecosystem and the improvement of its players’ capabilities.
Can AI replace private bankers, or do you think there will always be a need for a human touch?
I get that question a lot. To a certain extent, given our current position and the limited number of relationship managers in the region, I don’t think it’s a particularly relevant question.
Because if you think about it, I mean, I don’t know you personally, but have you actually had a conversation with a wealth manager? Even if you go into the upper tiers of affluence, you’ll see that the conversations are pretty anecdotal. That’s just because there aren’t that many RMs, and it’s not very economical to hire more RMs to cover people.
So, I always try to say, you know what, it doesn’t even matter. I wouldn’t worry about it. Because if we do get to a point where you have a digital RM, just a full avatar, that will be great for everyone. And I don’t even think it will end up replacing traditional RMs because there are so few of them already, and you’ll always have people who want to deal with someone real.
That’s my first reaction.
The second point is: what does it mean to have a digital RM? What is a digital advisor? What does AI allow you to do? And how does it change your experience of wealth management?
There are different ways to think about it. But the way I like to think about it is this: I try to picture the best possible athlete when it comes to a wealth advisor. Someone who understands your needs, who anticipates them, who is empathetic, who surfaces the right information for you, gives you the right advice for you and manages your money in the right way.
Now, imagine replicating that person with a digital avatar, bringing all those capabilities to people in real-time. The goal is to make that level of wealth management service available to everyone.
Of course, it comes with a lot of benefits. You’ll have access to that person all the time, whether it’s 11 p.m. or 7 a.m., or on a Sunday. That person will be materially more plugged into your life. They’ll have access to all of your information in real time. They’ll be checking it constantly. They’ll be able to connect the dots between your context and the markets in real time.
So, in a way, it’s like having 1,000 RMs servicing you.
Now, we’re not there yet. The technology isn’t there. I don’t think the institutions are there. But if we continue at this pace of innovation, we’ll get there.
And I know people use the term “democratisation” way too much, it’s used in every context, it’s a bit boring, but this is the real democratisation of amazing wealth management for everyone.
Some people will still want to deal with a human being. Some people may prefer not to. Over time, say 30 years from now, the proportion will likely shift toward people preferring to deal with an avatar.
You’ll put on your Vision Pro, and there’ll be someone who looks and sounds like someone you trust. And people will prefer that experience to dealing with someone in person.
But there’s a journey to get there.
The last thing I’ll say is that we’re already seeing technology help RMs perform their jobs more effectively. This is the co-pilot model, which eliminates many non-productive tasks they used to perform, such as producing reports, onboarding clients, and detecting events. AI can now do that.
It gives RMs more time to spend with clients. It also helps them better understand and anticipate client needs.
So, as we move toward fully digital agents, we’ll also have physical RMs who are better equipped to work with people.
Can AI replace private bankers, or do you think there will always be a need for a human touch?
I get that question a lot. To a certain extent, given where we are and the small number of relationship managers in the region, I don’t think it’s a very relevant question.
Because if you think about it, I mean, I don’t know you personally, but have you actually had a conversation with a wealth manager? Even if you go into the upper tiers of affluence, you’ll see that the conversations are pretty anecdotal. That’s just because there aren’t that many RMs, and it’s not very economical to hire more RMs to cover people.
So, I always try to say, you know what, it doesn’t even matter. I wouldn’t worry about it. Because if we do get to a point where you have a digital RM, just a full avatar, that will be great for everyone. And I don’t even think it will end up replacing traditional RMs, because there are so few of them already, and you’ll always have people who want to deal with someone real.
That’s my first reaction.
The second point is: what does it mean to have a digital RM? What is a digital advisor? What does AI allow you to do? And how does it change your experience of wealth management?
There are different ways to think about it. But the way I like to think about it is this: I try to picture the best possible athlete when it comes to a wealth advisor. Someone who understands your needs, who anticipates them, who is empathetic, who surfaces the right information for you, gives you the right advice for you and manages your money in the right way.
Now, imagine replicating that person with a digital avatar, bringing all those capabilities to people in real-time. The goal is to make that level of wealth management service available to everyone.
Of course, it comes with a lot of benefits. You’ll have access to that person all the time, whether it’s 11 p.m. or 7 a.m., or on a Sunday. That person will be materially more plugged into your life. They’ll have access to all of your information in real time. They’ll be checking it constantly. They’ll be able to connect the dots between your context and the markets in real time.
So, in a way, it’s like having 1,000 RMs servicing you.
Now, we’re not there yet. The technology isn’t there. I don’t think the institutions are there. But if we continue at this pace of innovation, we’ll get there.
And I know people use the term “democratisation” way too much ; it’s used in every context, which can be a bit boring—but this is the real democratisation of amazing wealth management for everyone.
Some people will still want to deal with a human being. Some people may prefer not to. Over time, say 30 years from now, the proportion will likely shift toward people preferring to deal with an avatar.
You’ll put on your Vision Pro, and there’ll be someone who looks and sounds like someone you trust. And people will prefer that experience to dealing with someone in person.
But there’s a journey to get there.
The last thing I’ll say is that we’re already seeing technology help RMs perform their jobs more effectively. This is the co-pilot model—it eliminates a lot of non-productive tasks they used to do, like producing reports, onboarding clients, detecting events. AI can now do that.
It gives RMs more time to spend with clients. It also helps them better understand and anticipate client needs.
So, as we move toward fully digital agents, we’ll also have physical RMs who are better equipped to work with people.
What makes the GCC such a strong launchpad for next-gen wealth tech? And what will wealth management look like five years from now?
That’s a great question.
First of all, I’d say there is, no pun intended, a wealth of investment flowing into the wealth and asset management sector in the GCC. If you look at ADGM in Abu Dhabi branding itself as “the capital of capitals,” I think that’s not just a strong marketing slogan. There’s a lot of truth behind it.
You’re seeing both the private sector and public sector coming together to attract assets to the region. And that effort is deliberate. There is a clear strategy around it.
There’s also the raw material—wealth. Wealth is here. It’s been generated here historically through petrodollars and now increasingly through a variety of other flourishing sectors.
From a wealth tech perspective, we see ourselves as the infrastructure for the wealth and asset management sector. We’re the technology layer on which you build franchises.
If you look at the strategy of the UAE, or to some extent Saudi Arabia, wealth and asset management is one of the verticals they’re actively pushing. Just like they’re doing with crypto and AI. Of course, there’s tourism and other sectors, and other people can speak more eloquently about those strategies.
Another thing that stands out is the willingness to leapfrog. We’ve seen that in payments. We’ve definitely seen it in crypto. In some areas, we were probably 15 to 20 years behind other markets. However, due to the scale of recent investments, we’re now five years ahead.
I think wealth could be one of those areas. Ten years ago, the conversation we’re having now would have sounded crazy. It wouldn’t have been taken seriously. But today, I can confidently say that I’ve spoken to most of the key players in the space.
We’re not there yet. I don’t think we’re 10 out of 10 on all the ingredients needed for a top-tier ecosystem. But I have a very clear line of sight to getting there.
If you had to put a number to it, what’s your timeline? How many years will it take for the region to reach that level?
That’s a good question.
I suspect that within five years, you’ll see a significant number of institutions that can confidently say they’re world-class—in our regional flavour, which I think is important.
Every region or jurisdiction has its way of doing things. I believe the way wealth is managed here in the UAE will inherently be different for several reasons. It will be more tech-driven. It will be more AI-enabled.
That’s where I think it becomes a real game-changer.
Whether you’re ultra-high-net-worth or just a retail customer, you’ll be better served—whether it’s growing your wealth, preserving it, or achieving specific goals. And that will be thanks to machines being able to utilise every available tool in real-time, in a personalised way.
