If you are tired of the low interest rate your bank pays you on your savings account(s), it is time to explore UAE investment opportunities with much better returns.
The best banks in the UAE still offer between 2% and 6% interest rate per annum on savings accounts.
Let’s compare that to stocks for a minute, one of the best options for investing in Dubai. The MSCI United Arab Emirates Index posted a 26.72% return in 2025. That’s like 4x-13x of what your bank will pay you on your savings accounts.
You may be worried that investing in anything outside of savings accounts is too risky. However, with the right information and approach, you can maximise your returns while minimising your risk.
In what follows, we consider the 8 best investment options for investing in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other emirates in the UAE).
Let’s get started.
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1. Precious metals
Overview
Precious metals, such as gold and silver, remain among the best investment opportunities in the UAE.
Investors value both assets because they can help hedge against inflation, diversify a portfolio, hedge against market downturns and economic uncertainty, and act as a store of value.
If you have a traditional portfolio of stocks and bonds, gold and silver can help to improve the risk-adjusted returns of your portfolio.
2025 performance
Gold delivered one of its best years in recent decades, with a total return of 62.39% in 2025, according to data from Investing.com. Those with gold investments in the UAE smiled a lot in 2025.
Gold’s Price Chart
Source: Trading Economies
This performance was driven by investor demand (given global economic uncertainty), central bank demand, weak US dollar, and geopolitical tensions (which make safe-haven assets desirable).
Silver also had a good year, with a 141.09% return in 2025, according to data from Investing.com.
Silver’s Price Chart
Source: Trading Economies
Silver’s growth was driven by rising industrial demand (especially from solar panels, EV batteries, and electronics manufacturers), investor demand (due to concerns about inflation), and a growing supply deficit.
The year 2025 was further proof to investors of the ability of precious metals to thrive amidst economic uncertainty and high inflation expectations.
How to invest in precious metals in the UAE
Knowing how to invest in gold in the UAE can be a good step to increasing the risk-adjusted returns of your portfolio.
For gold investment in the UAE, you have five options:
- Gold bullion (physical gold): This can come in the form of gold coins and bars. You can buy gold bullion at Dubai Gold Souk, specialised bullion houses, and jewellery stores.
Gold bullion offers direct exposure to the price of gold. However, they can be illiquid, expensive (price premiums, storage costs, transaction costs), and inconvenient (difficult to secure).
- Gold stocks: You can gain indirect exposure by buying the stocks of gold mining companies. Gold stocks are liquid, cost-effective, and convenient (no concerns about storage).
More on how to buy stocks below.
- Gold mutual funds: Instead of buying individual gold stocks, you can purchase mutual funds that focus on gold stocks.
Mutual funds benefit from diversification, which helps to reduce risk. However, they can be expensive due to high management fees.
- Gold exchange-traded products: You can also buy gold ETFs as an alternative to mutual funds. ETFs are cheaper (lower expense ratios), less risky, and more transparent.
If you still prefer direct exposure to gold’s price, you can buy gold exchange-traded commodities (ETCs). Unlike gold ETFs that invest in multiple gold stocks, gold ETCs invest in physical gold. However, since it is the fund that handles storage, gold ETCs don’t inherit the disadvantages of buying gold bullion.
- Gold futures and options: If you have the risk tolerance and expertise to handle derivatives, you can consider investing in gold futures and options.
They are good ways to speculate on gold’s prices while amplifying potential returns with the use of leverage.
You can access both through the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange.
Silver investment in the UAE is similar to gold investment. You can purchase silver bullion (silver coins and bars), silver stocks, silver mutual funds, silver ETFs and ETCs, and silver futures and options.
2. Stocks & ETFs
Overview
Stocks represent ownership in publicly traded companies.
Unlike precious metals, where you can only earn money by selling them (for capital gains), you can make money from owning shares in a company through dividend payments (a source of passive income) and capital gains.
Stocks remain one of the best investment options in the UAE because they offer a way to benefit from the innovation of some of the most prosperous companies in the world.
For example, as someone investing in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, you can benefit from the success of companies like Google, Nvidia, and Apple by buying shares in them from the UAE and doing nothing else.
Stocks are also one of the best investments in the UAE for expats, since you can hold on to your stock portfolio even while travelling back to your home country. There is no need to liquidate your stock portfolio, which you might have to do with real estate.
2025 performance
As mentioned above, the MSCI UAE Index, which tracks about 85% of the listed equities in the UAE market, posted a 26.72% return in 2025.
Source: MSCI
In the US, the S&P 500 Index, which tracks the 500 largest (by market cap) companies in the US stock market, posted a 17.9% return in 2025 after a difficult beginning to the year.
S&P 500 Index Price Chart, 2025
Source: RBC Wealth Management
Many international equity markets (India, Japan, and Germany, among others) outperformed the S&P 500 Index. Emerging markets were especially impressive, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index producing 33.57% returns.
How to invest in stocks in the UAE
Knowing how to invest in the UAE stock market is a good way to earn higher returns on your money.
If you are investing in Dubai, you can buy local UAE stocks through any of the brokers in Dubai. Similarly, if you are investing in Abu Dhabi, you can buy local UAE stocks through any of the brokers in Abu Dhabi. Popular banks like Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), among others, also have brokerage divisions that give you access to UAE stocks.
Given that NASDAQ Dubai also lists the equities of some companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, these brokers can also grant you access to regional markets.
Some of the best stocks to buy in the UAE are listed in the US. This is because most of the innovative companies in the world operate there.
Therefore, you also need to know how to buy US stocks in the UAE. You can do this through fintech platforms like Sarwa that provide access to the US market from the UAE.
3. Mutual funds
Overview
For investors who don’t have the time or skills to evaluate individual stocks, mutual funds are an easier option. These are baskets of securities selected by professional fund managers.
Given that a single mutual fund has multiple securities within an asset class, they provide direct diversification. The importance of diversification is that it reduces risk. By buying a single mutual fund, investors can have exposure to multiple stocks (for example), instead of buying a single one.
Since mutual funds are managed by professionals, investors expect that they outperform the market. However, studies have repeatedly shown that after deducting the fees they charge, mutual funds do struggle to beat their indices.
Though equity mutual funds are the most popular, there are also mutual funds for bonds (and other fixed-income securities), precious metals, and other asset classes. Also, many hybrid mutual funds combine multiple asset classes.
2025 performance
By mid-year 2025, 54% of large-cap mutual funds underperformed the S&P 500 Index, according to the SPIVA report by S&P Global, a financial services firm.
Source: S&P Global
However, mid-cap and small-cap mutual funds did better, with only 25% of the former and 22% of the latter underperforming their benchmark indices.
Source: S&P Global
At the end of the year, 73% of large-cap funds still underperformed, according to Bloomberg.
The same situation holds in the UAE.
To take one example, ADCB UAE Equity Sub-Fund, an equity mutual fund, underperformed its benchmark (the S&P UAE Domestic) between January and June 2025.
Source: ADCB Securities
Similarly, First Abu Dhabi Bank’s growth equity fund, FAB UAE Growth Fund Acc, had a 16.4% return in 2025, which is less than the 26.72% returns of the MSCI UAE fund.
However, it is crucial to state that while many equity mutual funds tend to underperform, many do outperform. And even those who underperform still produce incredible returns compared to investing in a savings account, bonds, or real estate.
How to invest in mutual funds in the UAE
Emirates NBD, ADCB, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Mashreeq Bank are some of the financial institutions that offer the best-performing mutual funds in the UAE.
You can also gain access to international mutual funds through some fintech platforms in the UAE.
4. Real estate & REITs
Overview
Real estate is the most popular tangible asset in the world.
The UAE real estate remains one of the most popular in the world, due to its high rental yield. For some people, investing in Dubai is the same as investing in real estate.
Like stocks, you can earn money from holding and selling real estate, the former through tax-free rental income, the latter through capital gains.
Though a comparison of real estate vs stocks’ historical returns shows the latter outperforming the former, many stick to real estate due to its tangibility.
Nevertheless, investing in real estate has its cons. There are many reasons why real estate is a bad investment.
First, the investment outlay is high. You will usually need millions of dirhams (AED), which makes it out of bounds for those seeking a small investment in the UAE.
Second, there are lots of expenses associated with closing a real estate deal.
Third, real estate is illiquid; it can take months before you get a counterparty willing to trade. And prices can change significantly during the waiting period.
Fourth, you have to take out time to manage the property or pay someone else to do it.
Fifth, there are ongoing costs associated with property maintenance.
In response to this, many investors prefer to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) instead. These are the stocks of companies that invest directly in real estate (equity REITs) and those that finance mortgages (mortgage REITs).
Since they trade like stocks, they are liquid and avoid all the other cons of investing in real estate.
2025 performance
The average rental yield in the UAE is 6.76%, according to Engel and Volkers, a global real estate brokerage firm.
At the end of Q3, 2025, average residential values in Dubai were 10% higher than year-on-year, according to Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy firm.
If we add the two figures, we get a total return of 16.76% on average.
As we have seen, the UAE stock market did almost 10% more than that on capital gains alone (ignoring dividends, which is the stock market equivalent of rental income).
In the US, the MSCI USA REIT Index produced 2.95% returns, which is far lower than the S&P 500 Index return.
Source: MSCI
However, when we add the 4.06% dividend yield of this index, we still get total returns that exceed savings accounts and some fixed-income securities.
How to invest in real estate in the UAE
If you are interested in tangible real estate, you can contact any licensed real estate broker in the UAE.
For REITs, Emirates REIT and Dubai Residential REIT are available on Nasdaq Dubai and the Dubai Financial Market, respectively. Any stockbroker can give you access to them.
If you are interested in US REITs, you can buy them individually through any of the investment and trading platforms that connect UAE investors to the US market. Also, you can buy REITs as ETFs through the same platforms. More on ETFs later.
5. Bonds
Overview
Bonds are fixed-income securities that provide stable income to investors.
They are usually combined with stocks to form a traditional portfolio. Many investors see them as the risk-reducing component of such a portfolio. Treasury bonds are even considered risk-free in most stable economies.
Bonds don’t usually produce the same returns as stocks, REITs, or precious metals. However, their stable income and low risk continue to make them one of the best investments in Dubai.
2025 performance
The Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF is a USD-denominated ETF (it is for international investors) that invests in investment-grade bonds in the UAE. It provides access to the bond market to international investors.
This ETF produced 1.87% returns in 2025.
Source: Chimera Investment
The ETF also has a dividend yield of 5.8%, according to Investing.com.
In the US, the Morningstar US Core Bond is a popular benchmark for the bond market. The index posted a 7.09% return in 2025.
Morningstar US Core Bond Price Chart
Source: Morningstar
How to invest in bonds in the UAE
You can buy bonds through the same brokers you buy stocks.
Many local banks also allow you buy national bonds.
6. Cryptocurrencies
Overview
Cryptocurrencies are now asserting their place in the investment world as traditional financial institutions continue to adopt them. We now have Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs, and top guns like JP Morgan are now issuing tokenised real-world assets (RWA).
Though cryptocurrencies are still volatile, investors have used them (especially Bitcoin) to improve the risk-adjusted returns of their portfolios. Also, as Bitcoin has become more mainstream, its volatility is reducing, making it more amenable to traditional investors.
2025 performance
Most popular cryptos closed 2025 on a negative note. Bitcoin produced a negative 9.64% return at the end of the year. Ripple, Cardano, Solana, and Ethereum also had negative returns in 2025.
The NASDAQ Crypto Index, which tracks Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, Chainlink, Cardano, and Stellar, also had a negative year, falling by 14.15%.
Nasdaq Crypto Index Price Chart
Source: Hashdex
However, many of these cryptos had long stretches of strong performance during the year, and one cannot ignore how well the whole ecosystem has performed in recent years. For investors with high risk tolerance, they remain one of the best UAE investment opportunities.
How to invest in cryptocurrencies in the UAE
You can buy cryptocurrencies on popular crypto exchange platforms that operate in the UAE (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, etc.). Many local crypto exchange platforms also operate in the UAE.
If you can’t deal with the stress of creating and managing wallets, you can buy cryptos like you buy stocks on platforms like Sarwa.
7. ETFs
Overview
ETFs are seen as alternatives to mutual funds.
Like mutual funds, ETFs invest in a basket of securities, thus providing diversification.
However, since they are mostly passively managed, they incur lower management fees. Also, unlike mutual funds, you can trade them during normal trading hours (just like regular stocks), which improves their liquidity.
While mutual funds have a minimum investment requirement, you can make a small investment in the UAE through ETFs. If you can’t afford a single ETF, you can buy a fraction of its share.
Furthermore, ETFs are more transparent about the assets they hold, unlike mutual funds that try to keep holdings information as a sort of trade secret.
2025 performance
ETFs seek to track the performance of market indices. Thus, there is nothing like underperforming or outperforming a benchmark index.
However, ETFs’ returns can differ from those of their indices. This is referred to as tracking error. In the US, the average tracking error is between 0.05% and 0.50%, so they are usually considered insignificant.
There are ETFs for all the asset classes we have considered today (asides mutual funds). The performance of every category of ETF will be similar to the asset class it tracks since we have mostly used indices to measure their performance.
For example, a broad equity ETF that tracks the UAE market will have similar returns to the MSCI UAE Index that we used to measure the performance of UAE stocks.
How to invest in ETFs in the UAE
The few local ETFs tracking the UAE market are available on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market. You can access them through a local broker.
You will also find on fintech platforms like Sarwa ETFs that give you exposure to UAE markets (like iShares MSCI UAE ETF), as well as US ETFs that offer access to the US market.
8. Managed investment portfolios
Overview
Many new investors prefer a fully hands-off approach to investing, instead of deciding where to invest money in the UAE.
Managed investment platforms like Sarwa Invest are a good way to do this. These platforms will create a diversified and personalised portfolio of ETFs for you based on your risk tolerance, investment goals, and time horizon.
All you need to do is deposit money into your account every month, based on your monthly investment plan in the UAE.
2025 performance
Since these portfolios are personalised, their performance varies from one person to another.
For example, a risk-seeking investor with a portfolio that includes cryptocurrencies would tend to earn higher returns than a risk-averse investor with a portfolio that allocates 60% of funds to bonds.
Nevertheless, these platforms tend to produce returns that are similar to the S&P 500 Index, making them one of the best UAE investment opportunities.
How to invest in managed investment portfolios in the UAE
You need to sign up for an account with a managed investment platform and complete the onboarding process.
Start creating wealth in the UAE
With Sarwa Trade, you can start investing in the UAE investment opportunities above.
You can buy and sell stocks, stock ETFs, bond ETFs, gold ETFs, silver ETFs, REIT ETFs, and cryptocurrencies on the Sarwa mobile and web app.
If you prefer to leave things to the initiatives of the experts, our wealth advisors will create a personalised portfolio of ETFs that will help you achieve your financial goals.
Whatever your investment plans in the UAE look like, we have the right products that will help you build wealth for the long term.
Are you ready to explore the best investment options in the UAE? Sign up now for a Sarwa account to start your investment journey on the right path.
Takeaways
- UAE savings accounts offering 2–6% pale in comparison to stocks, precious metals, and diversified portfolios that delivered double-digit returns in 2025.
- Combining assets like stocks, ETFs, bonds, precious metals, and REITs improves risk-adjusted performance versus relying on one asset class.
- From gold and US stocks to ETFs and managed portfolios, UAE investors have world-class options to grow wealth long term.
- With Sarwa, you can build a portfolio of the best UAE investment opportunities or have a wealth advisor build one for you.