UAE asset manager Shuaa hires chief digital officer for planned wealth fintech

UAE-based Shuaa Capital has hired a chief digital officer to lead the development of its planned digital wealth platform.

The asset manager and investment banking platform named Hadi Raad in the new role of chief digital officer, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday (June 14).

Raad joins Shuaa from Visa where he led digital solutions for the Central Europe Middle East and Africa region. He was previously Google’s head of product marketing for Emerging Arabia. Raad will report to Shuaa Group CEO Jassim Alseddiqi.

Shuaa said its wealth fintech platform is in line with its increasing focus on technology.

“At the same time, we have identified a gap in the market for an innovative digital wealth offering that integrates best-in-class advisory services, execution and cutting-edge technology,” said Alseddiqi.

Shuaa has identified millennials and high net-worth individuals as a “significant opportunity” to serve via fintech, citing a Knight Frank study that said the number of HNWis in the Middle East is expected to increase by an average of 12% by 2025 and ultra HNWIs by over 26%.  The study said that 57% of these UHNWIs reside in Saudi Arabia and 23% in the UAE.

The asset manager has been exiting its non-core investments to streamline and optimise growth. The firm last week sold all its 121.7 million shares in Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank to GFH Financial for 8.76 million Bahraini dinars ($23.25 million).

Shuaa’s current asset management portfolio includes leading MENA region music streaming platform Anghami.

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