Middle East

A USD1 Trillion Opportunity for the GCC Financial Sector

Digital wealth management (“DWM”) – either in the form of an automated portfolio management platform, commonly referred to as ‘robo-advisory’, or a funds supermarket platform – is familiar to most financial firms in the GCC. The GCC financial sector is aware of the under-served mass affluent segment for wealth management services and the many benefits the introduction of DWM can bring to these customers.

The biggest hurdle is the fragmentation in the GCC banking sector.  For instance, the top 5 banks in the UK hold 87% of the total banking deposits.  In comparison, the top 5 banks in the GCC region hold 27% of the region’s banking deposits.  The impact is that the total potential revenue pool for DWM services for the mass affluent segment is too small for most banks, let alone relatively smaller insurance and brokerage firms in the GCC region.

READ THE ARTICLE by FORBES MIDDLE EAST