Mission
We construct and implement Dubai property portfolios that are statistically aligned with each investor's objectives, built on insights from two decades of registered transactions.
Vision
To improve investment outcomes in Dubai real estate through a systematic, factor-based approach to building exposure, with the investor at the centre of every decision.
We start with private investors who build exposure across more than one unit. As the evidence, the track record and the licences grow, we intend to bring the same discipline to family offices and institutional investors.
Factor exposure is only part of the picture. The vehicle that holds the investments, and how it is taxed, also shapes how a portfolio is built. We aim for a holistic approach, tailored to each investor's circumstances and objectives, in which the investor's tax and legal advisers have clearly defined roles.
The problem with a sales-driven market
Dubai's residential market is predominantly sales-driven. An investor enquiring about a small number of units is typically approached by numerous agents and developer sales teams competing for the same transaction, and commitments made to secure the deal often take precedence over analysis. Developer sales teams also work to targets and commissions, so buying directly does not resolve the issue. The market has capable and reputable professionals, but its incentive structure seldom rewards objectivity. For professional investors, the result is considerable time invested for little decision-relevant information.
The most common issues fall into five areas. Each is followed by our approach.
Communication
Common issues
- Volume over substance. Frequent calls and messages, the same listing from several agents, and few substantive answers to the investor's questions.
- Representations not reflected in the contract. Yields, handover dates, discounts and resale values are presented verbally but do not appear in the sale and purchase agreement.
- Urgency as a sales technique. The Dubai market moves quickly, and that pace is readily turned into pressure. In off-plan sales, launch deadlines, "final units" and expression-of-interest deposits compress the time available for due diligence. In the secondary market, the pressure comes from competing offers that cannot be verified, "below market" opportunities said to be available only briefly, and requests to sign the memorandum of understanding (Form F) and pay a deposit, typically 10% of the price, before the unit, the title and the service charges have been verified.
Our approach
Units are proposed only where they fit the investor's investment policy statement, and material representations are written into the sale and purchase agreement.
Objectivity
Common issues
- Compensation tied to the transaction. Commission is earned when a sale completes and is frequently paid by the developer or the seller. Advice therefore tends toward acting immediately, buying from available stock and favouring the products that pay the highest commission, which are often off-plan launches.
- Inventory-led recommendations. Recommendations start from what the agent or developer needs to sell rather than from what the investor requires.
Our approach
Units are selected by a statistical process. The portfolio is built to replicate the factor exposures set out in the investor's asset allocation plan, so a unit qualifies by its contribution to the portfolio, not by who is selling it. Commissions are capped, which removes the incentive to favour the units that pay the most.
Professionalism
Common issues
- No documented investment policy. Units are proposed before the investor's objectives, risk tolerance, horizon and constraints have been established and written down.
- Selective track records. Successful transactions are presented and others omitted. Returns are quoted without stating the period, the costs deducted or the valuation basis.
- No accountability after completion. Once the transaction is registered, no one assesses whether the unit performed as presented.
Our approach
Every engagement starts with a structured interview and a written investment policy statement, before any unit is proposed. Performance is reported for all portfolios under rules set in advance, and after purchase every unit is tracked against registered transactions of comparable units.
Due process
Common issues
- Due diligence left to the buyer. Title, escrow and project registration, service charge history, building condition and the developer's delivery record are often not verified unless the buyer requests it.
- Terms agreed verbally. Negotiated discounts and conditions are not reflected in the sale and purchase agreement.
- Handover without independent inspection. Defects and deviations from the specification are identified only after the keys have been accepted, when remediation is more difficult.
Our approach
Title, escrow and project registration, service charge history, building condition and the developer's delivery record are verified. Negotiated terms are written into the sale and purchase agreement, and an independent snagging inspection before handover is a requirement.
Analysis
Common issues
- Asking prices presented as value. Listing prices and developer price lists reflect sellers' expectations. Registered prices reflect what buyers actually paid. The difference can be material, and it is rarely disclosed.
- Gross yields presented as income. Rental yields are frequently quoted before service charges, vacancy, maintenance, management and fees, and on optimistic rent assumptions.
- Area averages instead of unit-level evidence. A community's average price change says little about the specific unit on offer. Within a single building, floor, view, orientation and layout can make a material difference. See why.
- Downside not assessed. Projections show a single scenario, usually a favourable one. The range of potential outcomes, including handover delays, weaker rents or a market correction, is rarely presented.
- Launch discounts and payment plans taken at face value. A discount looks different once the capital committed, the rent forgone and the risk of delay are taken into account. We work through an example.
Our approach
Value is measured against registered prices, not asking prices. Yields are stated net of service charges, vacancy and fees. Units are compared within their own building. Downside is estimated by simulation: the range of potential outcomes is derived from the variance of the factors that drive each unit's price and rent, rather than from a single projection. Off-plan discounts are priced against the capital committed, the rent forgone and the risk of delay, with payment plans, mortgage financing and bulk purchase discounts modelled explicitly.
How we work
A structured, repeatable process from the investor's objectives to the finished portfolio. It is designed to inform decisions rather than promote products, and to produce portfolios built on evidence rather than on sales incentives.
- Investor interview. A structured questionnaire, conducted as an interview, establishes the investor's objectives, return requirements, risk tolerance, horizon, liquidity needs, existing holdings, constraints and preferred holding structure.
- Investment policy statement. From the answers, we draft an investment policy statement (IPS). It governs the investment strategy and sets out the responsibilities of each party involved, including the investor's tax and legal advisers.
- Asset allocation plan. Derived from the IPS, the plan defines the target factor exposures and unit characteristics by market segment. Together, the IPS and the allocation plan govern portfolio turnover, leverage, concentration limits and the other parameters of portfolio management.
- Market screen and construction. We screen off-plan and secondary units and assemble a portfolio that replicates the target exposures as closely as the available units allow. A unit qualifies by its contribution to those exposures. We source the properties ourselves and do not assess listings collected elsewhere.
- Underwriting. Each candidate is analysed at unit and building level. Return assumptions combine expected price and rental performance, and the rental evidence guides the exposure to short-term and long-term rental. Financing is modelled explicitly: whether mortgage leverage is feasible and what it does to returns and risk, together with payment plans and bulk purchase discounts. Off-plan and secondary options are therefore compared on the same opportunity-cost basis. Simulations based on factor variance show the range of potential outcomes, for each unit and for the portfolio as a whole, including the downside.
- Due diligence and terms. Title, registration, service charges, building condition and the developer's record are verified, and negotiated terms are written into the sale and purchase agreement.
- Implementation. The purchases are completed as one portfolio, with an independent snagging inspection before every handover.
- Monitoring and reporting. Every unit is tracked against registered transactions of comparable units, and the portfolio is reported against its IPS and allocation plan under rules set in advance.
The decision to invest in Dubai residential property, and when, remains the investor's. We do not attempt to time the market. Our role is to select the units and structure the portfolio that best fit the investor's objectives.
Our principles
- Evidence before inventory. We define what a unit should offer before we look at what is for sale. Recommendations rest on registered transactions, not on asking prices.
- The investor's objectives govern. The investment policy statement, not the available inventory, determines the strategy. Units are selected by a statistical process that replicates the factor exposures in the asset allocation plan, so a unit qualifies by its contribution to the portfolio, not by who is selling it. Commissions are capped to mitigate conflicts of interest.
- Research that is not for sale. We do not accept payment to feature a developer, project or building in our research, and we do not publish findings about named developers, projects or buildings.
- Net, not gross. Yields, costs and returns are shown net of service charges, vacancy, fees and commissions, with the assumptions stated.
- Stated limits. Our methods are public. We state what we do not know, and a result that does not hold on data the model has not seen is not used. See the methodology.
How we will measure performance
Property performance is easy to present favourably. We intend to measure it the way institutional investors measure other asset classes, and the rules are set before a single figure is reported.
- All portfolios, not selected examples. Any performance we report will include every client portfolio that meets the stated definition, including those that performed poorly. No portfolio is excluded because of its results.
- Rules defined in advance. Groups of comparable portfolios, benchmarks and calculation rules are defined before results are known and applied consistently. Changes are documented with their date and rationale.
- The appropriate return measure. Time-weighted returns show the quality of unit selection, independent of when the client invested. Money-weighted returns show what the client actually earned, including the timing of off-plan payments. Every figure states which measure it uses.
- Valuations based on evidence. Units are valued against registered transactions of comparable units, not against asking prices or developer price lists. The valuation method and frequency are disclosed, and independent valuations are used where available.
- All costs included. Returns are shown after all fees, commissions, transaction costs and service charges, alongside the gross figure. Rental income and capital growth are reported separately, as are realised and unrealised gains.
- Currency and period stated. Every figure states its currency, its period and whether it is annualised. Periods shorter than one year are not annualised.
- Independent review. As the business grows, the calculation process will be reviewed by an independent third party.
Where we are
UAE Portfolio is at the validation stage. The model is being built and no service is offered yet. Some of what is described here is a standard we intend to meet rather than a record we already have. When these principles change, this page will be updated with a note of what changed. Any future service will be provided only under written terms, once the required licences are in place.
Join the waitlist to follow the work, or get in touch.