DIFC Brokerage Net Profit Reached $301 Million in 2025

A regulator reviewing a brokerage sector that added 23 firms since 2022 found that 18% of surveyed DIFC firms operate without a documented personal-account-dealing policy and 32% keep no dealing register, alongside disclosed discrepancies between firms' own transaction records and the DFSA's enquiries.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority reviewed personal-account dealing across the Dubai International Financial Centre brokerage sector during the first quarter of 2026, the opening phase of a three-phase 2026 review. The number of authorised brokerage firms rose from 49 in 2022 to 72 as at March 31, 2026, DIFC-located headcount increased from about 800 to about 1,500, and combined net profit moved from $160 million in 2022 to $301 million in 2025 before recording $132 million in the first quarter of 2026. Across an industry-wide survey, 18% of firms held no documented personal-account-dealing policy, 32% maintained no dealing register, and 5% applied no approval or notification requirement. The DFSA disclosed instances where its own enquiries into employees' personal-account transactions did not match the transactions firms had reported. FM Intelligence projects the authorised brokerage count will reach a base case of 76 firms by the end of 2026.