We are delighted to welcome you to the Wealth Planning & Structuring Forum - Dubai 2026, taking place on Wednesday 7th October at the Shangri-La Dubai The Forum arrives at a point where the UAE’s growth is no longer the story. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have won the argument about momentum. The open question is whether it is being converted into a mature, trusted and competitive ecosystem, with the institutional depth, technical standards and talent to match the ambition.
Beneath that, the technical ground has shifted. Updated tax guidance has sharpened the position on family foundations, multi-tier structures and the family office itself. The DIFC has proposed opening its prescribed company regime, which would change how regional holding structures are built and priced. Family-owned captive insurance and new products from Dubai’s capital markets are reaching a market where few advisers are yet discussing either. And founders are selling, listing or stepping back from operating businesses, frequently with no next generation to continue them, so substantial liquidity is arriving at families whose governance was never designed to hold it.
Three panels anchor the day, each built around a decision rather than a subject: whether this market is genuinely maturing, what a family office here should actually be, and which tools now do the job.
This highly curated gathering will bring together a number of senior professionals: heads of wealth planning, trust and fiduciary specialists, senior private bankers, product heads and relationship managers from private banks, independent wealth managers and EAMs, single and multi-family office principals and executives, private client lawyers, tax advisers, corporate service providers and HNW insurance specialists.
How the Day Works - You Choose How You Take Part
The Forum is structured in two distinct parts, and you are welcome to join the morning, the afternoon or both.
The Morning (9.00am-1.00pm): 3.5 CPD hours. Three senior panels, six specialist presentations and the rapid-fire In The Hubbis Hot Seat, in which providers each have five minutes to put a solution in front of the room. Followed by a networking lunch.
The Afternoon (2.00pm-4.00pm): 2 CPD hours. Hubbis Bespoke Workshops of 40 minutes each, going considerably deeper on structures, jurisdictions, policy selection and the implementation problems that rarely surface on a panel, followed by networking and refreshments.
The Full Day: Up to 5.5 CPD hours across both programmes.
Key Discussion Themes Include:
From Momentum to Maturity - what turns rapid growth into an enduring position, and which indicators would show real depth rather than headline activity? How should Dubai and Abu Dhabi complement one another, and where are the gaps in the ecosystem and in its talent?
What a Family Office Here Should Actually Be - where an investment platform ends and a family office begins, which capabilities belong in-house, where investment activity should sit, and when a formal office is unnecessary.
Choosing the Jurisdiction - how DIFC, ADGM, DWTC Free Zone and DMCC compare on legal framework, permitted activities, regulatory and disclosure requirements, substance, cost and ecosystem.
Preparing for Liquidity - which governance structures, investment policies, reporting systems and decision rights must exist before the proceeds arrive, and who takes responsibility for the capital on day one.
What the Latest Tax Guidance Changed - when a family office is taxable, how the clarifications affect multi-tier foundations and jointly held SPVs, and where transparency breaks if a single entity in the chain fails to qualify.
A Reformed Holding-Structure Market - what removing the qualifying-purpose, applicant and nexus requirements from the DIFC prescribed company regime would mean for structures, service providers, accessibility and pricing.
Trusts, Foundations and Shari’a-Compliant Planning - how DIFC and ADGM compare, whether these structures can reflect the principles of waqf or hibah, what options exist where a founder wishes to retain control, and how planning works when heirs or assets sit in jurisdictions that do not recognise those principles.
Matching Insurance to the Risk - across protection cover, savings plans, PPLI, unit-linked solutions and family-owned captive structures, and how to judge insurer strength, illustrated returns, premium financing and multi-decade servicing.
Where Offshore and India Change the Answer - what Guernsey, Jersey, Cayman and the BVI still offer alongside a UAE core, and how RBI and FEMA requirements affect the Indian capital the UAE is able to receive.
What to Stop Recommending - which structures are overused or re-marketed without sufficient purpose, and when cost and complexity outweigh value.
We look forward to welcoming you to Dubai in October 2026.