Proprietary Investment Companies (Prop Investment Firms)
What is a Proprietary Investment Company?
A Prop Investment Company is a non-regulated entity that trades and invests its own capital in equities, bonds, derivatives, structured products, real estate, or intellectual property. The firm earns profits and bears losses directly, without managing third-party funds.
Permitted Activities
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Buy, hold, and sell listed shares and bonds.
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Invest in real estate, IP rights, and other assets.
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Trade derivatives and structured products.
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Earn dividends, rental income, royalties, and capital gains.
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Open accounts with banks and brokers for trading purposes.
Setup Process
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Decide structure (direct or holding).
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Choose name, share class, and shareholders.
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Provide UBO and business plan.
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Draft Articles of Association.
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Appoint directors and signatories.
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Register office, data protection contact, and file source of wealth declaration.
FAQs
a. Direct Ownership Structure
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Company owned directly by individual shareholders.
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Advantages: Faster setup, lower cost, easier bank onboarding, and scalable for growth.
b. Holding Company Structure
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Holding Company as parent, with Proprietary Company and SPVs below.
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Advantages: Risk ring-fencing, asset protection, and flexibility for expansion.
It usually takes 4 - 6 weeks.
Due to its strong legal framework, top-tier banks, 100% foreign ownership and global connectivity.
Due to its Independent legal system, tax efficiency, innovation-friendly ecosystem and Abu Dhabi-based investor access.
Zubin Muriya is a seasoned Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) professional with over two decades of cross-jurisdictional experience in banking regulatory compliance, financial crime risk management, corporate governance framework, and audit advisory. His work across India and the GCC (UAE, Qatar, Bahrain) reflects a career rooted in regulatory rigor and operational integrity.
