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Dubai Financial Market (DFM) Review
Dubai Financial Market is the UAE's main stock exchange, active since 2000. The SCA regulates it, and it is itself a listed company, not a retail broker.
Min Deposit
N/A
Spreads From
Not applicable
Max Leverage
Not applicable
Platforms
N/A
Pros
- Regulated by the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority, the SCA
- One of the largest and most liquid stock markets in the Gulf region
- Itself a public company since a heavily oversubscribed 2006 IPO
- Lists a wide range of assets, including sukuk, ETFs, and REITs
Cons
- Not a retail broker, so you cannot open a trading account here directly
- Access always needs a separate licensed UAE brokerage firm
- Net profit swung sharply for years following the 2008 financial crisis
- Easily confused with Nasdaq Dubai, a separate exchange with its own regulator
Dubai Financial Market opened on March 26, 2000, under a decree from the Government of Dubai. It stayed fully government owned until November 2006, when a public offering sold 20 percent of its shares, oversubscribed by 118 times. Today DFM itself trades as a listed public company on its own exchange.
The market lists UAE equities, sukuk, ETFs, and REITs, tracked by the DFM General Index. Profits swung sharply after the 2008 financial crisis, dropping for several years before recovering later. DFM is one of three UAE exchanges, next to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the separate Nasdaq Dubai.
The UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority, the SCA, regulates DFM. This differs from Nasdaq Dubai, which a separate regulator called the DFSA oversees instead, so the two are easy to mix up. This is not a retail forex broker, so ideas like minimum deposit or leverage do not apply here.
Max Leverage
Not applicable
Spreads From
Not applicable
Regulators
- SCA (UAE)
- DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority)
