At the 5th Annual Private Wealth Middle East Forum, held by Markets Group at Atlantis The Royal on 20 October 2026, Ahmad Saidali joined the panel on Opportunities in Private Credit and Private Debt.
He was joined by Xavier Leroy, Head of Investment, BNP Paribas Wealth Management MEA, and Sebastian Schroff, Chief Investment Officer, Private Credit and Private Equity, Allianz Global Investors. Rahul Menon, Managing Director, Jupiter Wealth Advisors, moderated the discussion.
“Design the system before you select the products. Governance defines the allocation, and private credit has to earn its place within it.”
The family office view
Ahmad brought the family office perspective to the discussion. For a family, a quoted yield is where the analysis begins, not where it ends. What matters is what sits behind that yield, how the investment fits the family’s liquidity over decades, and which protections still hold when conditions change.
For a family, a quoted yield is where the analysis begins, not where it ends.
He set out three principles that guide how Redwood Heritage approaches the asset class.
The return must pay for the risk. Illiquidity, complexity and credit risk each deserve compensation, and a family should know how much it is actually being paid for each.
Liquidity is planned from the family’s side. The share a family can commit to private markets follows from its own obligations and horizon, never from the attractiveness of a single opportunity.
Manager selection follows the design. Once the role of the allocation is clear, managers are judged on the quality and discipline of their underwriting.
Our thanks to Markets Group for a well organised forum, and to everyone who stayed to continue the discussion.
Redwood Heritage Multi-Family Office FZCO is a Dubai-based multi-family office licensed by the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, headquartered at Sheikh Rashid Tower, Dubai, with established professional relationships in Geneva and Zurich. The firm advises families, founders and family offices on wealth architecture, governance, succession and the coordination of capital across jurisdictions.
Ahmad Saidali is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Redwood Heritage Multi-Family Office in Dubai, and a global asset allocator with sixteen years of family office experience. His career spans Swiss private banking and family office leadership, including leading one of the DIFC’s earliest multi-family offices from its incorporation, a firm recognised as Best Multi-Family Office MENA at the WealthBriefing MENA Awards under his leadership.
