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DMCC plans new wealth tool for family offices and investors

New Foundations framework will support succession planning and asset protection

Last updated: June 12, 2026 | 10:45

Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor

2 MIN READ

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The Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC).

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Dubai: DMCC is preparing to introduce a Foundations framework in its free zone, expanding Dubai’s wealth-structuring options for investors, family offices, entrepreneurs, and private wealth holders.

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The proposed framework is in the final stages of regulatory review and is designed to support succession planning, long-term asset holding, wealth preservation, governance arrangements and private wealth structuring.

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The move comes as Dubai continues to attract global capital, family offices and entrepreneurs looking for legal structures that can manage ownership, protect assets and support continuity across generations.

New layer for private wealth structuring

Foundations are expected to become the next product in DMCC’s structuring platform, following the launch of Special Purpose Vehicle and Holding Company licences in 2025.

The new framework will sit alongside those existing products, giving DMCC members more options to organise assets, investments and ownership structures within the free zone’s legal and regulatory environment.

DMCC said the framework has been developed after extensive market consultation and international benchmarking, to meet demand from global family offices and investors seeking more sophisticated structuring tools.

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Demand rises for succession planning

Private wealth holders and family offices are increasingly looking for structures that can help manage succession, asset protection and governance across jurisdictions.

The proposed Foundations framework is intended to serve those needs by offering a flexible structure for long-term continuity, particularly for families, entrepreneurs and investment vehicles managing cross-border assets.

"The introduction of Foundations represents the next step in expanding our structuring platform. By developing a modern, internationally aligned framework, we are providing greater flexibility for succession planning, asset protection, governance, and long-term wealth preservation," said said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC. "Alongside initiatives such as the DMCC Wealth Hub and DMCC FinX, this reflects our broader strategy to support capital formation, enterprise growth, and investment across every stage of the investment lifecycle.”

Dubai’s wealth ecosystem expands

The framework will also complement DMCC Wealth Hub and DMCC FinX, deepening the link between capital structuring, wealth management and investment activity in Dubai.

DMCC said further details on the Foundations framework will be announced in due course.

Once introduced, the new structure will strengthen DMCC’s position as a destination for investors seeking long-term wealth planning and governance solutions, while adding another layer to Dubai’s growing private capital ecosystem.

Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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