Alternative asset managers in DIFC and ADGM operate under some of the most rapidly evolving regulatory environments in the world. We monitor both regulators continuously — and translate what changes mean for your firm, not for the financial services industry in general.
The independent regulator of financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Modelled on international best practice, the DFSA regulates fund managers, investment advisers, banks, and brokers operating under the DIFC's common law framework — entirely separate from UAE onshore regulation.
The financial regulator for the Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island. The FSRA operates under English common law and regulates fund managers, investment dealers, and financial advisers — with a growing focus on digital assets, ESG, and sustainable finance that is reshaping its rulebook.
The DFSA Rulebook covers every aspect of a fund manager's regulatory obligations in DIFC — from initial authorisation through to ongoing supervisory expectations. Its framework is sophisticated, principles-based, and evolving faster than most firms' internal monitoring can track.
The FSRA has moved quickly to establish ADGM as a leading financial centre — and its rulebook reflects that ambition. Alongside traditional asset management regulation, the FSRA has become the most active Gulf regulator on digital assets and sustainable finance, issuing guidance at a pace that demands continuous monitoring.
The DFSA and FSRA share a number of supervisory priorities — and in several areas they are aligned with global regulatory trends, which means firms operating across jurisdictions face compounding obligations.
Both regulators have significantly increased AML and CFT supervisory activity. FATF's assessments of the UAE have driven a step-change in expectations — CDD, EDD, UBO identification, and MLRO resourcing are under active scrutiny.
The FSRA in particular has been proactive on ESG disclosure requirements and green finance frameworks. Firms marketing ESG-labelled products in ADGM face increasingly detailed substantiation requirements.
The FSRA's Virtual Asset Framework and the DFSA's Investment Token framework are both live and evolving. Any firm involved in crypto assets, tokenised funds, or digital asset custody needs to stay current with both.
Both regulators have strengthened expectations around senior management responsibility, approved person obligations, and governance standards — mirroring the direction of UK SMCR and international equivalents.
Cyber risk, outsourcing oversight, and business continuity are active supervisory themes in both DIFC and ADGM — particularly for technology-dependent fund management operations.
Both regulators have raised the bar on periodic return accuracy, timely notification obligations, and management information provided to boards. Errors in regulatory submissions are increasingly resulting in formal supervisory action.
We monitor all three regulators — not just the FCA. Every consultation, guidance note, supervisory notice, and enforcement action is tracked in real time across all three jurisdictions.
Regulatory updates are written by a CCO who has operated under both DFSA and FSRA regulation — not a lawyer writing for a general audience. You get what it means for your firm, not what it says.
When a regulatory change in one jurisdiction has implications for your obligations in another — an FCA consultation that echoes DFSA expectations, for example — we flag the connection explicitly.
Every digest includes forward-looking coverage — consultations open, rule changes coming, and supervisory priorities signalled — so your firm can prepare rather than react.
Most compliance intelligence services cover one jurisdiction. Firms operating across the UK and UAE have historically had to subscribe to multiple services and stitch the picture together themselves.
Compliance Intelligence covers all three regulators in a single weekly digest — written from the perspective of a CCO who has operated under all of them.
Free weekly intelligence covering the FCA, DFSA, and FSRA — written in plain English by a practitioner who has sat in the CCO seat under all three regulators.