Regulatory standing
Fundtec operates as a corporate services provider under a UAE free zone commercial licence. As a corporate services provider, Fundtec is supervised under the UAE Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing framework (Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2018 and its implementing regulations) as a Designated Non-Financial Business and Profession (DNFBP). The DNFBP framework imposes obligations on corporate services providers in respect of customer due diligence, beneficial ownership identification, transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, sanctions screening, and record-keeping.
The DNFBP supervisory regime is administered, depending on jurisdiction, by the UAE Ministry of Economy or by the relevant free zone authority's compliance function. Fundtec's compliance with the framework is independent of, and additional to, any other regulatory regime that may apply to a specific client engagement.
What Fundtec is not
To avoid any ambiguity, Fundtec is not, and does not hold itself out as:
- A fund manager licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), or the UAE Capital Market Authority (formerly the Securities and Commodities Authority).
- A fund administrator, custodian, prime broker, or transfer agent.
- A licensed legal practitioner authorised to advise on UAE law or any other system of law, or to act as advocate before any court, tribunal, or regulator.
- A licensed audit firm registered to perform statutory audit work under the UAE Federal Decree-Law on the regulation of the auditing profession or under the equivalent regulations of any free zone.
- A registered tax agent under the Federal Tax Authority's tax agent register, save where Fundtec or a member of its team holds such a registration personally and is acting in that capacity, in which case the registration will be specifically referenced in the engagement letter.
- An investment adviser, broker-dealer, or financial promoter licensed under the laws of any jurisdiction to recommend, market, or solicit investments in financial products to retail or professional investors.
Where any of the above services are required for a client engagement, Fundtec works alongside the appropriately licensed counterparty (legal counsel, statutory auditor, registered tax agent, fund administrator, regulator-licensed financial services firm) and the engagement letter will identify the parties and their respective scopes of work.
Scope of services
Fundtec provides consulting services to UAE-based operating businesses, asset managers, and fund managers. The services are organised into two practices.
For operating businesses: incorporation consulting, accounting and fractional CFO support, corporate tax and VAT consulting, and visa consulting. The work consists of advisory, structuring, process design, and operational coordination. Where the client requires the filing of statutory documents (such as a tax return submission, an audit report, or a court document) Fundtec coordinates with the client's appropriately licensed advisor; Fundtec does not file such documents in the capacity of a regulated practitioner.
For asset managers and fund managers: CFO consulting, COO consulting, OMS and PMS implementation consulting, and middle-and-back-office consulting. The work consists of advisory, infrastructure design, system selection and implementation, policy and procedure development, and operational oversight. Fundtec does not act as a regulated fund manager, fund administrator, or any other regulated financial services entity, and does not market or solicit investments in any fund or financial product.
Information published on this website
Material published on this website, including the Insights section, is general information intended to assist readers in understanding the UAE operating environment. It is not, and is not intended to be:
- Legal, tax, regulatory, accounting, or investment advice for any specific situation, person, or entity.
- An offer or solicitation to provide services in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful.
- An offer or solicitation to invest in any fund, security, or financial product.
- A representation that the law or regulatory practice described is current at the time of reading; UAE law, regulator guidance, free zone rules, and tax practice change with reasonable frequency, and material on this site reflects the position as understood at the time of writing.
Readers should not act, or refrain from acting, in reliance on the contents of this website. Specific situations require specific advice, taking into account the reader's own circumstances, and should be addressed to a qualified advisor under a written engagement.
Engagements
An engagement between Fundtec and a client is created only on the basis of a written engagement letter signed by both parties. No engagement is formed by reading this website, by submitting a contact form, by attending a discovery call, or by any other interaction prior to the execution of an engagement letter. The engagement letter sets out the scope of work, the deliverables, the timeline, the fee basis, and the parties' respective responsibilities. Where the work involves coordination with the client's other advisors (legal counsel, statutory auditor, tax agent, regulator-licensed firms), the engagement letter will specifically identify the scope boundary between Fundtec and those other advisors.
Conflicts and referrals
Fundtec does not accept referral commissions, kickbacks, or any other form of compensation from free zone authorities, software vendors, banks, fund administrators, custodians, brokers, or any other service provider that Fundtec may recommend to a client. Recommendations are made on the basis of client fit alone. Where Fundtec has a relationship with a third-party provider that the client should be aware of, the relationship will be disclosed in writing before any recommendation is made.
Anti-money laundering and customer due diligence
Consistent with Fundtec's obligations under the UAE AML/CFT framework, Fundtec performs customer due diligence on prospective clients before establishing an engagement, including verification of identity, beneficial ownership, source of funds, and sanctions screening. Fundtec may also perform enhanced due diligence in higher-risk situations and may decline to establish or continue an engagement where the firm is not satisfied with the due diligence outcome. Fundtec is required to report suspicious transactions to the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and may be unable to disclose to the client that a report has been made.
Limitation of liability
The limitation of Fundtec's liability for any specific engagement is set out in the relevant engagement letter. Liability arising from material published on this website, where any could be argued to arise, is excluded to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
Governing law
Disclosures made on this page, and the relationship between Fundtec and any reader of the website, are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates. Disputes arising from the disclosures or the website are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of the Emirate of Dubai.
Contact
Questions about these disclosures, or about Fundtec's regulatory standing or scope of services, may be sent to contact@fundtec.ae.
Last updated: 27 April 2026.