A Comprehensive Research Report for the Founding Members of The Finance Hive Middle East Community.
Produced by:
Liam Heraty
Director of Product
The Finance Hive
The Middle East is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation as a global trading hub. A growing number of international hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, and local asset managers are establishing themselves in key financial centres such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. Alongside this shift, global technology vendors and trading platforms are increasingly viewing the region as a frontier for innovation and growth.
To support and reflect this momentum, we’ve developed an exclusive report that consolidates the most important insights gathered from our early conversations with The Finance Hive’s new Middle East trading community. This includes contributions from buy-side and sell-side leaders who are helping to shape the future of trading in the region.
What’s inside the report?
A consolidated overview of the key challenges, priorities, and themes shaping institutional trading in the Middle East today.
Drawing on in-depth conversations with founding community members – from asset managers and hedge funds to sovereign
wealth funds and technology partners – this report outlines the real-world issues desks are navigating as they modernise, scale, and connect.
Some of the headline topics include:
- Technology adoption: A growing appetite for EMS, TCA, and automation—tempered by workflow resistance, limited tech capacity, and oversight gaps.
- Data localisation laws: Markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are enforcing regulations that require trading data to remain in-country, reshaping decisions around infrastructure and platform selection.
- Talent constraints: High staffing costs, relocation barriers, and lean desk structures are limiting the ability to attract and retain skilled trading professionals.
- Liquidity and Governance: Desks are seeking cleaner liquidity, more efficient execution models, and improved transparency around counterparties and broker performance.
Download this report for the key themes shaping institutional trading in the Middle East today.
Top Topics for Community Discussion:
1. Liquidity Access and Broker Diversification
2. Workflow Modernisation and EMS Adoption
3. Technology and Data Localisation Challenges
4. Market Structure and Regulation
5. Execution Models and Governance
6. Talent Acquisition and Team Structures
7. Peer Benchmarking and Transparency
8. Digital Assets and Tokenisation
9. Fixed Income and Credit Trading
