In the last few years, Apex Group's Middle East business has grown almost six times in assets serviced — from $30 billion to over $170 billion. Today we are looking at the drivers of that growth, the rise of family offices, and the succession strategies helping GCC family businesses prepare for the next generation. Joining me is Christiane Alhambra, Global Head of Family Offices and Regional Head of Middle East at Apex Group. Christiane, thanks so much for coming on the show.
Thank you, Rachel, for having me.
You spent two decades on the private banking side before joining Apex Group in 2023. What made you cross over and what surprised you most about the shift?
During those 20 years, I was dealing with ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices from a private wealth, asset management, and investment banking perspective. I knew how they think. But I was always on the other side of the table. I was genuinely intrigued by the engine — the machine behind it. Apex offered me a platform as a global organisation with more than 3.5 trillion in assets and at the forefront of every innovation and technology. I wanted to be part of the world where the next chapter of wealth is being written — from an infrastructure, governance, and structuring perspective rather than just running the business.
Asset servicing under Apex has grown from $30 billion to over $170 billion under your leadership. What is actually driving that growth?
It is a combination of factors. First, the organic growth of existing business built over 20 years — we were the first asset service provider in Dubai and the first in Abu Dhabi. Second, the significant inflow of asset managers and family offices that moved their money and structures to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in recent years. Third, the infrastructure built by the leadership of this country — ADGM and the DIFC — equivalent to Singapore, Switzerland, the US, or the UK in terms of the confidence it gives families coming here. And the fourth and most important factor: GCC wealth moving from informal structures into formalised, institutional ones. Once you have an institutional structure and bring wealth into it, you can multiply it over generations rather than keeping it in an informal arrangement.
What is the biggest misconception families in this region have about setting up a family office?
They think it is a product they buy or something they can simply set up. They think — I will get the regulatory license, hire one person, and that is it. What you actually have to do is institutionalise the process and build it for generations to come. I always ask families first: why are you doing this? What is the purpose? You define the purpose, then the governance, and then the structure follows. Profiling the family office is crucial before starting the project — every family has different dynamics, different sensitivities, different purposes.
Why are families increasingly turning to fund structures instead of holding companies?
It is a combination of things. But most importantly, family offices are moving from being pure allocators to being sponsors. When you want co-investment opportunities, when you want third-party capital or an institutional investor to come in — a fund structure makes you credible. Governance and procedures are well defined. Succession becomes only a transfer of shares, rather than a complex wind-down of assets. And there is significant credibility with banks, regulators, and the assets themselves. It also gives the third or fourth generation an opportunity to build their own wealth within a proper structure.
Succession planning is often the hardest conversation for a family office to have. What does good succession planning actually look like for GCC families transitioning to the next generation?
We are now talking about generation seven in some families. The conversation has to happen years before the event — way before. The way you should treat it is as a discipline and an ongoing operation, not a sudden event where you have to read the will and figure out what to do. Most importantly, the next generation needs to be involved in the structure early enough — not just given a seat at the dinner table, but actually made responsible for a part of the business or for creating their own wealth within the structure. Give them accountability. Give them responsibility. That is what prepares them.
Christiane, it has been wonderful to have you on today. Thank you so much and looking forward to having you back.
Thank you very much for having me.
