Q&A: Amir Sadr, head of UAE market and private office in the Middle East, Coutts
Amir Sadr joined private bank Coutts in November last year to head up its UAE market and private office business in Dubai after more than 12 years working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The move is part of an ambitious expansion plan by the bank in the Middle East. We talk to Amir about his decision to move to the region and what advice he can offer aspiring private bankers.
You recently moved from London for your role in Dubai, what prompted you to make the move to the region?
I've actually been covering the region for almost 15 years now, both in my time working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch's markets team and latterly for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. I originally moved over to the region in 2008 from a career perspective, but I've always had a natural affiliation, since I'm originally from this part of the world – I left when I was seven, but it's ultimately where my roots lie.
From 2008-2010, I was based in Dubai and then I moved back to London and got settled until – out of the blue – I started a conversation with Coutts and bought into their strategy. Obviously, I had to tell my family we were moving back again, but for the past few months I've been back and forth between London and Dubai. We'll all settle in the UAE shortly.
What are the main differences between doing business in Europe and the Middle East?
The first difference is cultural; you need to understand the history of the region and the origins of its wealth. If you're dealing with an ultra-high-net-worth family office, for example, it's not unusual for there to be a couple of hundred members spread across multiple GCC countries, with an extensive network of business interests across the region. Nonetheless, from a cultural perspective, the Middle East has strong communities and you have to keep this in mind when adapting your approach to these families, while also offering sophisticated and complex services that can add value.
Then there are the economic factors; there's a huge abundance of natural resources in the region, which means the scale of investable assets is very large - $1-1.6 trillion, depending on which research report you read. Over the past 10-12 years, those assets are being invested within the region – in local infrastructure and industry – so clearly this presents massive opportunity for a private bank.
Coutts has stated that it intends to 20 people in the Middle East this year, can you tell me what the motivation for the recruitment drive is?
Coutts identified the Middle East as one of five core locations for growth, considering the large amount of investable assets in the region. We've been present in the region for some time, but it's important for us to grow our local presence and having the right level of talent is critical.
It's also an interesting time to be working in the wealth management sector in the region. Post the 2008 crisis, the local banks did very well as wealthy individuals moved their business away from the international players, which were perceived as more risky. Now, with the economic conditions improving around the world, many ultra-high-net-worth clients are thinking about redeploying their business back to international houses. We believe there's a lot of opportunity within the advisory space again.
Will you only be hiring in Dubai?
Our primary office is within the Dubai International Financial Centre, and our intention is to use this as a central hub for our Middle East business and grow it significantly. We also have an office in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and cover our offshore business from London and Geneva. We will grow across these offices, with our main focus on Dubai.
A number of international wealth managers and private banks have bolstering their headcount in the Middle East recently. Has it become more challenging to find talent? How is Coutts setting itself apart from the competition?
Three or four years ago a number of international firms were looking to extend their footprint into the region, but I think we are expanding most significantly in this part of the world at present.
The search for talent is more challenging in the Middle East as good wealth managers are well looked after by their current employer, leading to intense competition.
We are leveraging the strength of the brand, our history and the extent of our experience and expertise, which coupled with the platform we have in the region positions us as a key player in the market.
What affect is this increased demand having on compensation in the sector?
Compensation inflation is always going to be an issue, but I don't think that salaries have rushed up in the Middle East wealth management sector over the past couple of years. The reality is that, because of the recent crises, people's expectations have been managed downwards and there's little danger of compensation spiralling out of control.
What skills and characteristics do you look for in new recruits?
We’re looking for trusted advisers with a good understanding of the Middle Eastern market, preferably local language skills and a strong track record of managing assets and wealth preservation.
Wealth management seems to be relatively sheltered from redundancies hitting other areas of the financial sector. What, if any, other sectors lend themselves to a switch into wealth management or private banking?
Given the volatility in other parts of the financial sector over the past 12 months – particularly markets and investment banking – wealth management is seen as a more attractive career move. Lateral moves are possible, but people need to understand that wealth management is not a transaction led model and is more about managing relationships over the long-term. Nonetheless, we remain interested in hearing from people with experience in other parts of the financial sector.
