Rapid Revision

Night-Before Review

A single-page summary of everything you must remember. Read top to bottom — then sleep.

One-page summary

  • SCA = federal regulator, HQ Abu Dhabi; Federal Law No. 4 of 2000
  • 5 licence categories; Cat 5 = Advice/Arranging (lowest capital)
  • Private Fund min AED 180k; Foreign AED 500k; SCA approval 5 working days
  • REIT distribution 80%; NAV error tolerance 0.5%; max 10% illiquid
  • Listing: 1st Cat AED 20m / 2 yrs; 2nd Cat AED 10m / 1 yr; buy-back max 10%
  • AML Law 20/2018; wire threshold AED 3,500; STR to FIU; 5-yr retention
  • Clients: Retail (highest), Professional (AED 4m / AED 1m), Counterparty (lowest)
  • Statements: Retail 6 months; Leveraged 1 month; E-trading monthly
  • Settlement T+2; pledge cap 50%; sell-out T+1; profit → Investor Protection Fund
  • Order priority: Price then Time (FIFO); error correction 30 min
  • DFM est. 2000; first Shariah-compliant exchange (2007); SCA-regulated

Key regulations

  • Federal Law No. 4 of 2000 — SCA founding statute
  • Federal Law No. 20 of 2018 — Anti-Money Laundering
  • SCA Board Resolutions on listing, funds, conduct of business

Key formulas

  • Demotion test: Losses ≥ 50% of capital OR suspended ≥ 6 months
  • Order matching: Price priority → Time priority (FIFO)
  • Sell-out: forced resale by T+1; profit → IPF; loss → client

Key definitions

SCA

Federal regulator of UAE securities & commodities markets

FIU

Financial Intelligence Unit — receives STRs

DvP

Delivery versus Payment

IPF

Investor Protection Fund

REIT

Real Estate Investment Trust (80% distribution)

Frequently tested

  • SCA HQ — Abu Dhabi
  • Max administrative fine — AED 100,000
  • Private fund min subscription — AED 180,000
  • REIT distribution — 80%
  • Listing capital — AED 20m / AED 10m
  • Buy-back cap — 10%
  • Wire transfer threshold — AED 3,500
  • Client class thresholds — AED 4m net worth / AED 1m income
  • Statement frequencies — 6 / 1 / monthly
  • Settlement — T+2; sell-out T+1; error window 30 min
  • Profit from sell-out — Investor Protection Fund
  • DFM Shariah-compliant since 2007