SICO has appointed Ahmed Burashid as chief executive of SICO Wealth, the new wealth and asset management arm the Bahrain-listed firm is establishing, the company announced on 21 September 2026. Burashid will lead the business as SICO prepares to launch it out of Abu Dhabi Global Market before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
SICO Wealth is being set up to expand the group offering in private wealth and asset management for regional and international clients, building on SICO track record in asset management, brokerage, market making and investment banking. Establishing the arm within Abu Dhabi Global Market, one of the leading financial centres in the region, gives SICO a regulated platform in the United Arab Emirates alongside its established base in Bahrain, and signals an ambition to compete for wealth mandates across the Gulf.
Burashid joins from Khaleeji Bank, where he held a senior role, and brings experience across banking and financial services in the region. His remit will be to build out the wealth platform, assemble its team and win clients as the business moves from launch toward scale. The appointment gives SICO a dedicated leader for what is intended to be a significant new growth engine for the group.
The move comes as Gulf financial institutions compete harder for the region growing pool of private and institutional wealth, with sovereign wealth, family offices and a rising number of high net worth individuals drawing global and local managers into the market. Abu Dhabi Global Market has positioned itself as a magnet for asset and wealth managers, and SICO decision to anchor its new arm there places it among a growing cluster of firms building regulated wealth businesses in the Emirates.
SICO is a regional asset manager, broker and investment bank licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and listed on the Bahrain Bourse. The launch of SICO Wealth remains subject to regulatory approval, with Burashid leading the business as chief executive.
Competition for wealth mandates in the Gulf has intensified as the region pool of private and institutional capital grows. Sovereign wealth funds, an expanding base of family offices and a rising number of high net worth individuals have drawn global banks and independent managers into the market, and financial centres in the region have competed to attract them. Abu Dhabi Global Market in particular has built a cluster of asset and wealth managers under its own regulatory framework, and a growing number of firms have chosen to anchor new businesses there.
For SICO, the launch of a dedicated wealth arm under an experienced chief executive is a bid to capture more of that flow while diversifying its revenue beyond its established brokerage, market making and investment banking lines. Building the platform, winning mandates and recruiting talent in a competitive market will be the early tests of Burashid tenure.
