Fund
Several investors’ money under one strategy. More than 470 asset managers operate in DIFC, 85 of them hedge funds. Fund type and permissions are set by the expert.
Setting up a fund in DIFC, Dubai’s financial centre
No. 1 for fund setup in DIFC in Dubai for English-speaking investors and wealth owners: we match you with a corporate lawyer who designs a fund, family office or holding structure in a financial centre with its own law and courts. DIFC hosts 10,018 active companies and more than 470 asset managers, and its family offices manage $1.2 trillion.
DIFC is Dubai’s financial free zone, with law built on English common law, English-language courts and its own registry. Firms come for a readable jurisdiction: disputes are settled under rules an investor already knows, not the UAE civil code.
The work is led by an invited expert, an independent corporate lawyer with a DIFC practice who is not on our staff. We select the expert for your brief and stay in touch until the result. Structure type, permissions, timing and fees are set by the expert.
Talk to a licensed broker: 📲 +971 50 120 32 64 on WhatsApp, @dubai_oleg on Telegram
How does DIFC differ from a free zone and the mainland?
DIFC is a separate jurisdiction inside Dubai, with common-law rules, its own courts and its own registry. An ordinary free zone is a ring-fenced regime with its own registrar; a mainland company is licensed by the Department of Economic Development under the UAE civil code.
A free zone is chosen for quick registration: a licence starts at roughly AED 15 thousand a year. The mainland costs up to AED 50 thousand and above but lets you serve any client in the country. DIFC is chosen for contracts under English law and an independent court.
Who needs a structure in DIFC?
Those who manage capital rather than trade locally. The typical newcomer to the centre is an established international firm, not a start-up.
Family office
A structure with permanent staff that runs one family’s capital. The Financial Times puts the number of such offices in Dubai at around 1,000 by mid-2025, up from about 600 in 2023.
Holding for property and shares
A company that owns property and stakes in businesses. Buying through a legal entity is more common for commercial property than for homes and affects tax, reporting and resale.
Why do funds and family offices choose DIFC?
For the law and the scale. Assets booked in DIFC rose 58% in 2024 to $700 billion, and the number of active companies was up 30% year on year by mid-2026.
For family capital, a system based on English law often matters more than the tax rate. Dubai ranks seventh in the Global Financial Centres Index, and a top-four place by 2033 is the goal of the D33 economic agenda.
What the service includes
Selecting the expert, framing the brief and staying with you until the structure operates. The office and homes we source ourselves, as a broker.
Choosing the expert
We introduce a corporate lawyer whose practice is structures in the financial centre: mainland Dubai experience does not carry over.
Jurisdiction and design
The expert compares DIFC, ADGM, a free zone and the mainland against your aim and sets out the scheme: participants, management, assets, tax. The decision is taken with a tax adviser before registration.
Office, homes and succession
We find premises in DIFC and nearby: office occupancy in the centre is about 99.5%, so start early. The expert registers a DIFC Wills will for your UAE assets.
How the work proceeds
It starts with the expert’s questions, not a registrar’s form. Timing and fees depend on the type of structure: the expert states them after the first meeting; we promise neither in advance.
- 1
Your brief
You describe the aim: a fund for outside investors, an office for one family, or a holding for property. We select the expert.
- 2
The expert’s questions
Whose money it is and its source, how many participants, which assets in which countries, who decides, whether you need staff in Dubai, who should inherit.
- 3
Form and jurisdiction
The expert proposes a scheme and a jurisdiction. The document list, the sequence of actions and the cost appear here.
- 4
Registration and assets
The expert handles the filing. In parallel you settle the office, the corporate account and bookkeeping; property and shares are then placed in the structure.
What tax does a structure pay in the UAE?
The standard corporate tax rate is 9% on profit above AED 375,000 a year, and 0% below that threshold. The tax has applied since 1 June 2023; in most developed economies the rate sits in the 20–30% range.
The zero rate for free zones covers qualifying income only and is not automatic: it requires real presence in the zone and audited accounts. The expert confirms which regime applies to you.
How does a DIFC structure relate to property and succession?
Directly: property is held through the structure, and the zone’s law offers familiar succession tools. Property inside DIFC is freehold, open to foreigners and recorded in the zone’s own registry, not at the Land Department.
The DIFC Wills registry lets a non-Muslim dispose of UAE assets as they wish: property, accounts, shares in companies.
DIFC or ADGM: which to choose?
Both centres run on English common law and have their own courts; DIFC is in Dubai, ADGM in Abu Dhabi. The choice depends on where your investors, team and assets are.
Since 24 April 2023 ADGM has also covered Al Reem Island; by mid-2026 it had 190 asset and fund managers and 276 funds, up from 209 a year earlier.
Request
Set up a fund in DIFC
Name and number — we will check which assets the structure is for and who the parties are, and match you with an expert.
Rather not leave a number? Message us directly: WhatsApp or @dubai_oleg.
Set up a fund in DIFC
Frequently asked questions
How much does a DIFC fund cost and how long does it take?
There is no single figure: cost and timing depend on the type of fund, the participants and the permissions required. The expert states them after the first meeting, once the scheme is clear.
Can I buy property in DIFC without a DIFC company?
Yes. Buying a home in DIFC requires neither zone residency nor a company there: it is freehold and open to foreigners. Procedures and fees differ from the rest of Dubai, so use a lawyer or broker with DIFC transactions behind them.
Does a DIFC structure need an office?
The expert sets presence requirements for the type of structure. A family office in practice means permanent staff who need a workplace and homes. Space is scarce: top-grade office rents have approached AED 800 per square foot a year.
Do I pay corporate tax if I own property in my own name?
No: personal ownership is not treated as a business activity, so the 9% tax does not apply to it. The regime changes when property is bought through a company or resale is run as a business. Clarify this with a tax adviser before buying.
See also
In the news
Articles and news on the subject of this service.
Family offices in the UAE: why private capital keeps choosing Dubai in 2026
Family offices in Dubai grew from about 600 in 2023 to roughly 1 000 by mid-2025, and the assets they manage through DIFC alone hit $1.2 trillion by mid-2026. We look at who is relocating and what it means for prime housing demand.
Daman Real Estate Capital Partners: when the developer is a fund with an exit date
An investment-managed developer behind a mixed tower in DIFC. Funds behave differently from family developers, and the difference is a timetable you are not told about.
DIFC Offices at 2% Vacancy: What a Square Foot Costs in Dubai’s Tightest District
In a district with roughly 2% vacancy, offices in a renovated tower were offered at AED 4 000–4 500 per sq ft with a projected yield of 8.75–11.5%. Here’s what makes up the price in Dubai’s tightest office location.
Most expensive areas in Dubai: price per square foot and rents in 2026
On sales registered with the Dubai Land Department in the year to July 2026, Jumeirah 2 leads at about AED 7 560 per sq ft, followed by Trade Center 2, DIFC, Dubai Harbour and La Mer. The city median is about AED 1 716. How prices compare with rents, and when a costly square foot pays off.
UAE office shortage: prime vacancy at 0.3% in Dubai and 0.1% in Abu Dhabi
JLL puts prime office vacancy at about 0.3% in Dubai and 0.1% in Abu Dhabi. In Q2 2026 Dubai Grade A rents rose 26.2% year on year and Grade B 31.5%; CBRE puts occupancy at 94% in Dubai and 96% in Abu Dhabi. What the squeeze means for office owners and buyers.
DIFC apartments: DIFC Living, the Waldorf Astoria residences and what is being built next
DIFC Living — 41 floors and 170 homes sold by the DIFC Authority itself — launched in September 2023 with handover scheduled for Q3 2026; our stock shows units at AED 3.85–5.4m. Next up: Four Seasons (Q1 2027), DIFC Heights (2029) and The Residences DIFC (Q4 2029).
DIFC passes 10 000 companies and $1.2 trillion under management — what it means for housing nearby
DIFC crossed 10 000 active companies in H1 2026, up 30% year on year. We look at what is behind the numbers and why it keeps pushing demand for offices and homes in Za’abeel and around the district.
New Dubai office towers: Immersive Tower in DIFC, Aldar's Sheikh Zayed Road building and Bureau Lamar in Business Bay
Three major office schemes are rising around DIFC and Business Bay: Immersive Tower ($300m, 58 573 sq m, 2027), Aldar's 88 000 sq m tower by Emirates Towers metro (Q4 2027), and an office park with a theatre on Business Bay's largest plot. Vacancy in central clusters sits at 2–5%.
Things to do in Dubai beyond the malls: Alserkal Avenue galleries, indoor summer options and cinema
Dubai’s second layer, district by district: Alserkal Avenue in Al Quoz and the DIFC galleries, the free Jameel Arts Centre on the Creek, Deep Dive Dubai’s 60-metre pool, cinemas in the malls. What to do at 40 °C, and why cultural infrastructure shapes where you choose to live.
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