Research · Dubai · DIFC

Independent research for people who decide with their own capital.

Plotenus is a focused research practice for allocators, portfolio managers, and family offices across the DIFC, ADGM and the wider GCC. White papers, a monthly letter, equity reports, sector rotation, reverse-DCF analyses, and short-term notes — built to a single standard of analytical rigour.

See sample work →Begin a conversation →

Why a research practice, here

The Gulf is a deepening market — under-covered by design.

The capital base is here. The listings are here. The talent is arriving. What is still thin is the analytical layer — the work that helps an allocator size a position with conviction, or hold one with patience. That is the gap we built Plotenus to fill.

6,700

HNWIs relocating to the UAE in 2024

Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024

$1.2tn

GCC private wealth pool

BCG Global Wealth Report 2024

$11.5bn

Raised in GCC IPOs during 2024 — a deepening, under-covered listed universe

PwC IPO Watch GCC 2024

< 3

Median sell-side analysts per listed GCC mid-cap

Plotenus desk review, Bloomberg consensus, 2025

What we publish

Six research products. One standard of rigour.

WHITE PAPERS

White Papers

Long-form thematic and regulatory research — the kind of document a principal forwards to a board, an LP, or a regulator. Built from primary sources, with a clear thesis and a defensible bibliography.

→Thematic — sukuk, GCC private credit, regional listed equities
→Regulatory — DFSA, FSRA and SCA positioning papers
→Family-office — succession, governance, generational transfer
→Format: 20–40 pages · designed PDF · 6–10 week build
→Best for: firms that need an institutional-grade artefact under their own masthead

NEWSLETTER

The Plotenus Newsletter

A monthly macro and markets letter with a clear house view. Distributable under your masthead or co-branded with Plotenus. Analytical, readable, and built to be kept — not skimmed.

→Format: 4,000–5,000 words · 6–8 sections · HTML + print PDF
→Cadence: monthly · 11 issues per year
→Coverage: GCC + global macro, rates, FX, commodities, equity positioning
→Audience: principals, MFOs, intermediaries, introducers
→Best for: firms that want a recurring intellectual touchpoint with their network

EQUITY REPORTS

Equity Reports

Initiation-style notes on single names — thesis, financials, valuation, risks, catalysts, recommendation. Written for an analyst-grade reader; structured so a portfolio manager can act on it in twenty minutes.

→Format: 12–20 pages · snapshot box · model summary · valuation block
→Coverage: GCC listed names, US compounders, GCC IPO pipeline on request
→Includes: 5-year model summary, peer comp, scenario range, catalyst calendar
→Cadence: per-name commission or as part of a coverage subscription
→Best for: PMs who need a defensible outside view on a long thesis or new position

SECTOR ROTATION

Sector Rotation

A monthly cross-sector positioning note. Relative strength, macro overlay, and a clear stance on each sector — overweight, neutral, underweight — with the reasoning behind every move.

→Format: 6–10 pages · sector heatmap · positioning table · macro overlay
→Coverage: GCC sectors + global S&P sectors · cross-asset overlay
→Cadence: monthly · with a mid-month update if conditions warrant
→Includes: month-on-month change, three signals we watched, what would change our view
→Best for: allocators and balanced PMs running active sector tilts

REVERSE DCF

Reverse DCF Analyses

Short, focused notes that solve for what the current price is implying — growth, margin, terminal — and stress-test whether those assumptions are realistic. A discipline against paying for a story.

→Format: 4–6 pages · reverse model · sensitivity grid · verdict
→Outputs: implied 10-yr revenue CAGR, terminal margin, FCF conversion at WACC
→Coverage: any liquid single name on request — typically richly-valued growth or recent IPOs
→Turnaround: 5–7 business days from brief
→Best for: PMs sense-checking a high-multiple long, or deciding when to trim

INTRADAY & SHORT-TERM

Intraday & Short-Term Equity Notes

Tactical, time-boxed notes on single names — typically catalyst-driven (earnings, guidance, regulatory print, deal news). Fundamental view first, with technical levels overlaid for execution.

→Format: 1–3 pages · setup · levels · time horizon · invalidation
→Coverage: GCC + US large-caps with sufficient liquidity
→Cadence: ad-hoc on retainer · same-day or next-morning turnaround
→Includes: entry zone, invalidation level, target, time horizon, what would change our view
→Best for: active books trading catalysts and post-earnings reactions

Sample deliverables

What the research looks like in practice.

Specimen deliverables produced by Plotenus to demonstrate format, depth and analytical structure. Built as reference work — not anonymised client material — so you can see exactly what you would receive.

02 · NEWSLETTERThe Plotenus Letter · monthly macro & markets

What this is

A monthly house-view letter — researched, written and laid out by Plotenus. Distributable under your masthead or co-branded. Built to be forwarded by intermediaries and kept by principals.

Specification

Format: Long-form HTML + print PDF
Length: ≈ 4,800 words · 7 sections
Cadence: Monthly · 11 issues p.a.
Audience: Principals · MFOs · introducers

Plotenus · Strategic Intelligence Series

THE PLOTENUS LETTER

MENA & Global Markets Edition · Issue 01 · April 2026 · For Professional and HNW Readers Only

The world’s financial gravitational centre has shifted. Dubai is not a destination — it is a decision. This edition covers what that means for capital, succession, and positioning across the markets that matter most in 2026.

$0.92tn

MENA Wealth AUM

2025 · 6.72% CAGR to 2031

9,800

HNWIs entering UAE

2025 · Golden Visa effect

3.5–3.75%

Fed Funds Rate

March 2026 · Hold

$2tn

GCC generational transfer

Projected · under-planned

DFM General

4,874 +14.2% YTD

ADX General

9,412 +9.8% YTD

S&P 500

5,291 −3.1% YTD

Brent Crude

$96 +18% YTD

AED / USD

3.672 Pegged

Macro Observation · I

The UAE Is No Longer a Tax Strategy. It Is a Wealth Strategy.

There is a version of Dubai that serious people dismissed for too long — the one populated by influencers and tax optimisers. That version is now irrelevant. The Dubai of 2026 is a different city: where DIFC has processed more than 200 new family office applications in a single year, and where establishing a UAE presence has stopped being a lifestyle decision and become an investment-infrastructure decision.

The MENA wealth management market is projected to reach $1.36 trillion by 2031 — a trajectory driven not by oil alone, but by deliberate structural migration of capital from every corner of the world.

200+

New family-office registrations at DIFC in 2024

+40% YoY · DIFC Annual Report

18%

GCC family businesses with a formal succession plan

Lombard Odier GCC Survey 2025

79%

Next-gen HNWIs intending to change their parents’ adviser

Lombard Odier GCC Survey 2025

What we are watching · V

Five inflection points in the next 12 months.

Threshold	Current	If triggered
New Fed Chair (May 2026)	Powell term ends	Extend USD duration
Brent > $110/bbl	≈ $96	Add GCC energy OW
Core PCE < 2.5%	≈ 3.1%	Add US equity beta
DIFC VASP final rules	Consultation	Review tokenised funds
GCC peg stress (tail)	No pressure	Defensive · gold · short-duration

Specimen excerpt — produced by Plotenus to demonstrate format, depth and editorial voice.

Specimen deliverable — for information only. Not an investment recommendation.

Discuss a deliverable like this →

How to engage

Three ways to work with the desk.

Single commission

One white paper, one equity report, or a single reverse DCF. Defined scope, fixed fee, clear deliverable.

Best for a one-off artefact — a regulatory paper, a board pack, an outside view on one name.

Subscription

The Plotenus monthly letter, the monthly sector rotation note, and two equity reports per quarter. Twelve-month minimum.

Best for allocators and PMs who want a steady cadence of independent input across macro, sectors and single names.

III

Bespoke research desk

Named coverage list, on-demand reverse DCFs, intraday and short-term notes on call. Effectively an outsourced analyst, scoped quarterly.

Best for active books and family offices that want analyst-grade coverage without the overhead of a desk.

Standards we hold ourselves to

What you can expect from the desk — not from the market.

Plotenus is a new, founder-led research practice. The numbers below are the standards we hold ourselves to in our own work — turnaround, founder review, sourcing discipline. We do not publish track-record figures, because the value of independent research is measured by the quality of the thinking, not by past calls.

≤ 5 days

First draft on equity & reverse-DCF notes

from brief to draft on the desk

1 voice

Founder-led, not outsourced

every word reviewed by Plotenus directly

Same day

Turnaround on intraday & short-term notes

for retainer clients, on catalyst

Cited

Every number sourced

primary where possible, footnoted always

How we begin

Brief before draft. Always.

I
Stage I
Discovery
A 45-minute conversation. We understand the use case — what you would do with the research, who reads it, and how it fits your process.
II
Stage II
Scope
A short written scope: which products, which coverage, what cadence, which formats — agreed before any work begins.
III
Stage III
Brief
For the first deliverable: a focused brief on objective, audience, format and the questions the work must answer.
IV
Stage IV
First draft
Researched and written by Plotenus. Drafts shared in stages so we can correct course early rather than at the end.
V
Stage V
Cadence
Once the first deliverable is signed off, the cadence sets. Monthly products run on a calendar; ad-hoc work runs to brief.

Our approach

Independence is the product

We do not run money, we do not hold positions in the names we cover, and we do not take corporate access fees from issuers. The research is the deliverable — nothing else is being sold underneath it.

Quality over volume

We work with a small number of clients each quarter. The depth of the work depends on the depth of the coverage, and the depth of coverage depends on us not spreading thin.

Specialist coverage

GCC listed equities, regional macro, and a focused US compounder list. We say no to coverage outside that envelope rather than dilute it.

Honest about uncertainty

Every note states explicitly what would change our view. We would rather be specific and wrong than vague and unaccountable.

Start a conversation

Begin with a single brief.

We accept a limited number of new research mandates each quarter. Conversations are confidential. There is no obligation to proceed.

romel@plotenus.com→Read the manifesto

“Inspire & Ascend. This is not a tagline. It is a programme. And it begins with a single thread, followed with patience, until it becomes something you could not have imagined at the start.”

Important: research published by Plotenus is for information and discussion purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Recipients should make their own assessment and consult their own advisers.