Earning tax-free income is not the only benefit of being an expat in the UAE. You can also invest your money in the UAE and earn income and capital gains tax-free.
Some of the top ways to invest money in the UAE for expats include buying stocks, bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and cryptocurrencies, etc.
In this article, we consider the top 5 investment platforms where you can purchase these assets.
1. Sarwa
Sarwa is an investment platform where UAE expats can invest in stocks, stock options, bonds, commodities, REITs, and cryptocurrencies, or purchase them as ETFs.
Best known for:
Sarwa is best known for supporting both passive and active investing.
Key advantages:
• Free AED deposits and withdrawals: Transfers from your local UAE bank account to your Sarwa account, and vice versa, are free.
• Low and transparent fees: Sarwa charges the higher of $1 or 0.25% of the traded value of every order.
• Educational resources: Through their blogs and newsletters, they provide expat-focused resources that will help you become a better investor.
• Local ETF: You can gain exposure to the local UAE stock market by purchasing an ETF that tracks the market.
• Halal and socially responsible investing (SRI) options: Sarwa also provides a Halal and SRI option for passive investors who want their portfolios to reflect their values.
Ideal for:
Sarwa is ideal for expats who want the flexibility of an active and passive strategy and individual securities and ETFs.
2. eToro
eToro is a global investment platform with a license to operate in the UAE. The platform offers access to stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, ETFs, and forex.
Best known for:
eToro is best known for its social trading product. This allows beginner investors and traders to copy the trades of the more established ones.
Key advantages:
• Thematic investing: Instead of investing in specific industries or strategies (value vs growth), you can invest in companies focusing on a particular theme or trend (artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, etc.).
• Multiple assets: eToro has a wide range of assets that include stocks, ETFs, bonds, cryptocurrencies, commodities, indices, and forex.
• Sharia-compliant accounts: UAE expats can also create Sharia-compliant accounts to invest based on their values.
• Passive and active investing: While you can create your portfolio, you can also select a personalized portfolio created by eToro’s investment experts.
Ideal for:
eToro is ideal for beginner investors who may want to copy established investors or go the passive investing route.
3. Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a global investment platform that is available to UAE residents (citizens and expats). It provides access to different assets across global markets.
Best known for:
Interactive Brokers is best known for helping investors purchase assets in over 150 global markets.
Key advantages:
• Flexibility: IBKR has a beginner-friendly app (GlobalTrader) and a complex one (Trader WorkStation) for institutional investors.
• Multicurrency support: You can add money to the account in different currencies.
• Tiered pricing: Commission per trade falls with the number of shares you trade in a month. The highest commission is 0.0035% for those trading less than 300,000 shares, and the lowest is 0.0005% for those trading more than a hundred million shares.
• Easy diversification: The access to global markets makes it easy to create a portfolio with broad geographic diversification.
Ideal for:
IBKR is ideal for experienced investors who need access to global markets and advanced investment tools.
4. Baraka
Baraka is a UAE-based investment platform that allows UAE residents to purchase US stocks and ETFs.
Best known for:
Baraka is best known for its strong focus on financial literacy and appeal to young investors.
Key advantages:
• Fractional trading: You can get started with as little as $1.
• Halal screening: Baraka has a Shariah Screener that helps you identify US stocks and ETFs that are Halal.
• Thematic investing: You can also invest in ETFs that target specific themes or trends.
Ideal for:
Baraka is ideal for investors who only want to invest in individual stocks and stock ETFs.
5. WIO Bank
WIO Bank is a UAE-based digital native bank that provides access to US stocks, US ETFs, UAE stocks, and cryptocurrencies.
Best known for:
WIO Bank is best known for providing access to individual UAE stocks.
Key advantages:
• Competitive fees: Commission is 0.20% per order (minimum of $0.50) for US assets, 0.15% per order (minimum of AED 0.20) for assets on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), 0.275% per order (with an additional charge of AED 10 per order) for assets on Dubai Financial Market (DFM), and 0.5% per order for virtual assets.
• Active and passive investing: They also provide expert-created personalized portfolios for investors.
• Multi-currency support: You can fund your account with multiple currencies.
Ideal for:
WIO Bank is ideal for investors who want to buy individual UAE stocks and those who want to integrate investing with other financial activities (budgeting, spending, saving, etc.)
Final thoughts
Sarwa seems to combine best all the important features expats are looking for.
It offers a wide range of assets, like Interactive Brokers and eToro, yet its platform is beginner-friendly and easy to navigate.
Sarwa focuses on financial literacy, like Baraka.
Furthermore, it supports passive investing (like WIO Bank, Baraka, and eToro) and Halal investing (also offered by Baraka and eToro). Its local ETF also provides exposure to the local UAE stock market, just like WIO Bank.
