Hedge & Sachs: What’s the real story behind investors’ Dh500 million claims?

Dubai: Investors seeking repayments from Hedge & Sachs have reported stopped payments, while the company’s Dubai offices have closed, according to Financial Times reporting. Public disclosures also detail its advisory licence, investment offerings and earlier financial liabilities.

The Financial Times reported late last month that representatives of roughly 1,000 people who say they invested a combined Dh500 million with Hedge & Sachs are asking authorities to investigate and impose travel bans on its management after investor payments stopped. The newspaper said the company had closed its offices in a residential part of Dubai after failing to pay rent.

Hedge & Sachs did not respond to the FT’s requests for comment. Gulf News also sought a response, but all its emails to the company were returned undelivered.

The Dh500 million figure represents the investments claimed by the individuals cited in the FT report. It is not a court award or an established loss total.

On Reddit’s 'r/UAE' forum, users describing themselves as Hedge & Sachs investors reported stopped payments and uncertainty over repayment dates. Some referred to restructuring updates and asked whether they should pursue legal action.

In a separate thread titled 'Hedge and Sachs (Reality Check)', a user claiming to be a former employee alleged delays to salaries and commissions. The commenter said management had attributed payment problems to temporary banking issues.

Gulf News could not independently verify the reported investment total or the Reddit accounts, including the users’ identities and supporting records.

In a company-issued announcement distributed through GlobeNewswire in November 2025, Hedge & Sachs described investments linked to foreign exchange, property-backed securities and subscription-based programmes. It said its platform served both individual and institutional investors.

“We are engineering outcomes, not relying on speculation,” Shivansh Rachit, founder and chairman of Hedge & Sachs, said in the announcement. The release presented financial engineering and asset-linked investments as central to its strategy.

Hedge & Sachs’ website identifies its Dubai business as Hedge and Sachs Financial Consultations L.L.C. It describes its licence as covering financial consultations under the category Arrangement and Advice.

Hedge & Sachs’ website describes its Category 5 licence as Arrangement and Advice, for financial consultations only. However, its LinkedIn profile also claims asset and fund management activities.

The profile describes a “200-member team” advising and managing assets for “4,000+ clients worldwide”. It calls the business an “advisory-driven investment house, designing and managing diversified, risk-managed funds built to preserve capital, manage risk, and create alpha”.

It lists strategies spanning equities, arbitrage, fixed income, currencies, commodities and multiple asset classes. It also describes operations across the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and India, serving individuals, institutions and sovereign entities.

The website lists regulatory licence '20200000341', issued on October 15, 2025, and valid until December 31, 2026, alongside commercial licence '989102'. It says other group entities may have separate regulatory arrangements.

The disclosed advisory licence does not establish permission for the asset and fund management activities described on LinkedIn. The public disclosures reviewed do not identify the permissions covering those activities.

A Hedge & Sachs recruitment advert from roughly a year ago referred to restructuring more than Dh300 million in existing liabilities. The LinkedIn vacancy sought a financial analyst to work with the founder on that task and improve cash management, payment processes and investor reporting.

The advert did not provide a breakdown of the liabilities or specify how much was owed to investors. The public material reviewed does not establish the amount currently outstanding or a confirmed repayment timetable.

In May 2024, the Dubai Financial Services Authority clarified that Hedge and Sachs Financing Broker LLC had never been incorporated in the Dubai International Financial Centre or authorised by the DFSA to provide financial services or make financial promotions in or from the centre.

The regulator said it had become aware of representations suggesting the company would soon receive DIFC approval. At the time, it said the firm was not involved in a licensing or approval process.

A Bloomberg legal entity identifier record lists Hedge and Sachs Financing Broker L.L.C. as the previous legal name of Hedge and Sachs Financial Consultations L.L.C. It gives Dubai registration number 989102, matching the commercial licence number on the company’s website.

The DFSA notice addressed the company’s status within the DIFC in 2024. The licence subsequently disclosed on Hedge & Sachs’ website concerns its onshore Dubai financial-consultations business.

UK Companies House records show that Hedge and Sachs Financing Brokers Ltd was dissolved on September 29, 2026. Its filing history records removal from the register through compulsory strike-off, following an initial notice dated July 14.

The register lists Rachit as its sole director and records him as controlling at least 75 per cent of its shares and voting rights. The records reviewed do not explain the reasons for the strike-off or establish its impact on UAE investors.

Anyone approached by a person claiming to represent Hedge & Sachs should independently check their identity and authority before sharing any personal or sensitive information.

In a separate impersonation alert unrelated to Hedge & Sachs, the DFSA advised: “Contact the organisation independently using details obtained from its official website.” It also urged recipients to “never share passwords, one-time passcodes, PINs” in response to unexpected requests.

Investors should also question unexpected requests for fees to release or recover their money. In separate alerts unrelated to Hedge & Sachs, the DFSA has warned that fraudsters may promise investment recoveries before demanding payments or banking information.

The reported payment problems also underline why investors should check who is legally responsible for repaying them and whether the relevant licence covers the investment being offered. A company’s registration or advisory licence should not be read as a guarantee that an investment is safe or that returns will be paid.