ADGM: Abu Dhabi Global Market

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is an international financial centre (IFC) established on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. It operates as a separate jurisdiction with its own civil and commercial laws, modelled on English common law, and its own courts. The financial regulator within ADGM is the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), which is distinct from the UAE's onshore regulators and from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) that governs the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).\n\nThe FSRA authorises and supervises firms operating inside ADGM, covering activities such as asset management, fund administration, banking, and capital markets. ADGM has its own fund registration framework, and funds domiciled there are governed by FSRA rules rather than by the Central Bank of the UAE or the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). As of Q1 2026, ADGM reported total active licences exceeding 13,353, with 961 new licences granted in the first quarter alone, and a 57% increase in Assets Under Management (AUM) year-on-year.\n\nIn November 2025, the FSRA published Consultation Paper No. 12 of 2025, proposing reforms to ADGM's private funds regulatory framework. The proposals include two streamlined regimes: one for fund managers with committed capital up to USD 200 million, and one for managers serving exclusively institutional investors. These reforms are still in consultation as of early 2026 - see the ADGM official website for current status.

For English-speaking expats in the UAE, ADGM matters because an increasing number of wealth managers, fund platforms, and brokers are licensed through the FSRA rather than onshore UAE regulators. When you open an account or invest through an ADGM-regulated firm, your regulatory protections and dispute resolution processes fall under the FSRA and ADGM's courts, not the UAE's onshore court system. It is worth confirming which regulator governs any firm you engage with before transferring funds.\n\nExpats evaluating fund products should also check whether a fund is domiciled within ADGM, in a UCITS-compliant jurisdiction such as Ireland or Luxembourg, or elsewhere entirely. Domicile affects the regulatory framework, investor protections, and in some cases the tax treatment in your country of residence or eventual departure. Always verify the fund's domicile and the authorising regulator in the fund's key information document before investing.