So today in the studio I have Anthony Sassine, CEO and co-founder of OCÉANE Invest. Anthony, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us today. For viewers new to this space, what is OCÉANE Invest and what does a market maker actually do for ETFs listed on the ADX?
Thank you for having me. OCÉANE Invest is an ETF market maker created just over a year ago by ETF veterans who spent 20-plus years each working on ETFs — whether in asset management or trading in the US. The mission is to help build and expand the ETF ecosystem in the GCC — from trading, market making, and authorised participants, which helps investors buy and sell ETFs affordably and frequently, to education, helping people understand what ETFs are and why they matter for long-term wealth building and retirement, as they do in the US and Europe. We've been working very closely with ADX to support the ETF ecosystem here.
ADX is one of the most active ETF markets globally, and arguably the most active in the Middle East. What are your thoughts on that, and how is ADX so well positioned?
ADX is the largest ETF exchange in the Middle East. There are more than 43 ETFs across the GCC, and 25 or 26 of those are on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange. ADX has been very helpful and forward-looking in setting regulations, updating market structure, and inviting market makers and ecosystem members to support the trading and listing of ETFs here. We saw that pay off in a big way last year when we saw the first cross-listings from the New York Stock Exchange to ADX — the KraneShares ETFs — a first for the Middle East. And the products on ADX are really at the forefront of innovation, whether in AI, Sharia-compliant income, or other leading products that investors are actively looking to access.
Going back to cross-listing — when you have an ETF cross-listed from the New York Stock Exchange onto ADX, what is the actual benefit for UAE investors?
It's very significant. In the US, Europe, and Asia there are around 4,000 ETFs each, with trillions in assets. Here in the GCC we only have 43. One of the most efficient ways to build ETF supply is by bringing the world's leading ETFs here to be traded locally. That's what we did with the four KraneShares ETFs. KWeb is the largest China ETF in the world and it's now trading on ADX in AED. You also have AGIX, a leading AI fund that had SpaceX exposure before its IPO and now includes Anthropic. Through cross-listing, you allow companies like BlackRock, State Street, and KraneShares to participate directly — with their ETFs trading in the local time zone and local currency. From a regulatory perspective, the SCA is also much more comfortable having investors put money into ETFs domiciled in the UAE. And there are meaningful tax benefits to investing in cross-listed ETFs here versus the US directly.
Let's zoom in on Sharia-compliant ETFs. What makes a Sharia ETF different from a conventional ETF, and who is it designed for?
In my opinion, this is the single biggest opportunity in ETFs, especially for the GCC. To put it in context — there is $23 trillion in assets in ETFs globally, but only $65 billion is in Sharia-compliant ETFs. And there are over two billion Muslims around the world who want to invest in a Sharia-compliant way. The opportunity is enormous. What makes an ETF Sharia-compliant is that the fund manager and the fund itself adhere to Sharia principles — no investment above 5% in non-compliant sectors like gambling, defence, or weapons; no high debt, since interest is not permissible under Sharia; and a few other screening rules. We're seeing more Sharia-compliant funds launched every year, and ADX is already the exchange with the most Sharia funds in the world — around 12.
Looking ahead, where do you see the broader trends for investors — GCC exposure, global growth themes, Sharia income products?
All of the above. We need to move from 43 ETFs today to thousands in the future, and there is room for everything to grow. For active traders, there are leveraged ETFs on single stocks. For Sharia compliance, there are 79 Sharia ETFs globally and only 12 here — that's a clear growth area, especially given the volume of bank deposits in the region that could flow into these funds. For long-term portfolio building, you need core ETFs from the likes of BlackRock and State Street. And for thematic exposure, last year was genuinely the year of thematic ETFs in the Middle East — five or six launched in 2025 and another three this year, including the Boreas AI Power ETF, the Boreas Quantum ETF, the Boreas Luxury ETF, and KraneShares' AI and China ETFs. What I see in the future is more involvement from global asset managers, more engagement from local investors, and the GCC becoming a primary global market in this time zone — with enough supply and depth for both retail and institutional investors to invest at home rather than abroad.
ETF season is well and truly upon us. Anthony, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you.
