Christo Arundel Relocates to UAE with St. James’s Place to Bring Decades of Experience

St. James’s Place Middle East partner Christo Arundel has brought his expertise from abroad and the heritage of financial advice and changed the prospects of financial planning in the UAE. Following his father’s example, Arundel left his job in banking in London for SJP, a long-term and strategy-focused firm with a client relationship emphasis.

Arundel then moved to the UAE after developing his expertise in the UK and became one of the first employees of SJP's operations in DIFC. Managing over $238 billion USD in various assets, SJP aims at providing its services with care and personalized offerings by focusing on the long-lasting bonds of trust made with their clients.

Trust is an extremely valuable commodity in the United Arab Emirates, especially for those that have recently moved to the country. Arundel recognizes this and adds that there is always scope for development of wealth management services thanks to the economic progress and the increase in expatriates moving into the region.

From Banking to Finance Consulting

Now when I open the page of his CV, to be honest, I become a little envious, working as a trader with the UBS Bank or the Bank of New York Mellon, one could imagine how amazing those roles were. But in fact, it wasn’t that amazing – as Arundel puts it: “Desk wounds”. He decided on a change and joined SJP in 2017, driven by the success of his father, who had worked for SJP. He enjoys the fact that SJP tries to understand what matters to a client and what their needs are, rather than purely selling relationships.

“Banking focus should not be on selling investment products but on the needs of the clients,” explains Arundel. “Instead, the focus should be on the client’s plans and how they can make those plans.”

SJP understands the aspirations of UAE Residents

The goal of SJP in the UAE was to start reshaping the way financial services have been traditionally offered in UAE, moving it from being completely transaction driven, to a more holistic financial planning perspective. He stresses the same point in this part of the narrative, where he talks about the middle earners and high net worth individuals insisting on the importance of investing young, however, where they aren’t able to make big investments.

Even on a very small scale, making consistent investments over a stretched period of time will work magic literally”, he adds and brings to light the fact that investment in time tends to work wonders.

Contributing to the Development of the Financial Centre of Dubai

Arundel commends Dubai for its regulatory processes which offer great protection for investors and help build a credible financial market. Given the bustling lifestyle mixed with the constantly moving expat population, he views Dubai as a suitable place for professionals which further generated demand for the wealth management industry.

As the UAE continues to be a home for top-notch professionals, Arundel believes that St. James’s Place will embed itself with that focus of steering clients to achieving their desired financial goals. “Earning trust and getting things done year in year out will guarantee our growth in this dynamic region,” he adds as a closing remark.

For more on Christo Arundel and St. James’s Place Middle East, go to Just Dubai!.