bfinance Expands with Middle Eastern Office

Independent investment consultant seeks to grow its global footprint with new Dubai location

London, 11th March 2024: bfinance, the independent investment consulting firm, is establishing an office in Dubai to support and grow the firm’s Middle Eastern and African (MEA) client base – formerly serviced from its London headquarters.

Alex Denby (Managing Director) moves from London to Dubai to head up the new office and is joined by fellow senior colleague Amir Saleem (Director, Client Consulting).

The firm, which turns 25 years old this year, recently completed a management buyout, moving back into employee ownership under the ongoing leadership of Chief Executive Officer David Vafai. The new Middle Eastern branch marks the firm’s eleventh location with other offices in London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Toronto, Montréal, Chicago, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Munich.

The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region has been a key growth area for bfinance: clients here represented more than 20% of the firm’s revenues in 2023, up from approximately 10% a decade ago. Since 2007, the team has undertaken more than 120 engagements for 40 clients in the region – across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, Saudia Arabia, Israel, Morocco, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. These include Pension Funds (26%), Wealth Managers/Banks (23%), Insurers (15%), Endowments/Foundations (14%), SWF (13%) and Family Offices (7%).

Indeed, with Wealth Managers and Banks representing a significantly larger proportion of the firm’s MEA client base (23%) than its global client base (6%), the region is also at the forefront of some of the most interesting trends in investment consultancy. Wealth Managers are rising in importance within the global institutional investment sphere. bfinance is supporting Wealth Management firms in delivering more sophisticated and competitive solutions for their underlying clients across a wide range of traditional and alternative asset classes.

Another key sector spurring the growth of the firm’s GCC clientele is the increasing depth and breadth of the Shariah investment industry. The availability of Shariah-compliant strategies has been improving rapidly – even in asset classes that have historically been challenging for Islamic investors to access, such as Private Credit (see Shariah-compliant Private Market Investing, bfinance 2023). The team has been supporting pension funds, SWF, wealth managers, family offices and other client types across the Islamic world in navigating this changing landscape and making the most of attractive opportunities.

The Dubai office will play a crucial role in facilitating closer relationships with clients across the MEA region and developing innovative customised solutions that meet their unique needs.

Alex Denby, Managing Director, Client Consulting, said: “Our Middle East and Africa business has grown consistently over the last five years. We are excited to open our Dubai office to support our client service offering and deepen local relationships. We believe that investors in these regions will continue to pursue portfolio diversification and innovation over the coming years, strengthening demand for bfinance’s core advisory services. The Dubai office will offer the firm’s full range of investment consulting services including asset allocation, portfolio design, manager selection, risk management, monitoring and more, all tailored to meet the specific requirements of institutional investors in the region.”

David Vafai, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am very proud to be able to announce our new office in Dubai, continuing the firm’s trajectory of global expansion through recent years. While we have been working with institutional investors in the Middle East since 2007, I believe that this regional office will take our relationships from strength to strength, showcasing our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of our clients worldwide.”