CMA Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 · UAE Federal
Regulates finfluencers who promote or recommend financial products: conditions and applications for authorisation, obligations of the finfluencer and of issuers and licensees using them, supervision and grievances. It repealed Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023.
Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 requires any individual in the UAE mainland who publicly recommends financial products, virtual assets, financial services or issuers (a "finfluencer") to register with the CMA, and sets what every recommendation must disclose. It also binds issuers and CMA-licensed firms that pay finfluencers. It repealed and replaced Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023 on financial recommendations (Article 9(4)), and took effect the day after Official Gazette publication (recorded in the index as 30 May 2025).
Article 1 defines a financial recommendation broadly: buy, sell or hold calls and opinions on value or performance, and any content, analysis or discussion of financial investments or a specific product, through social media, blogs, seminars or any other medium. Article 2 applies the decision to natural persons in the mainland recommending anything at home or abroad, and to anyone in the UAE recommending products or services the Authority regulates. It excludes republishing information already approved by the Authority or a market, licensed financial consultancy firms and their analysts, and recommendations made inside a financial free zone.
Article 3 allows registration of an accredited or certified, independent financial analyst, or of a person with market influence shown by at least 1,000 real followers, six months' financial experience, a record of professional recommendations, or recommendations quoted by specialised third parties. The Authority decides within 5 business days; registration runs to the end of the calendar year and is renewed annually within one month of expiry (Article 4).
Article 5 requires the finfluencer to show their name, status and CMA registration number on every recommendation and platform; separate fact from opinion; cite sources; date prices; disclose the previous 12 months' recommendation on the same product, high-risk products, holdings, payments received and links with the issuer; keep records; attend CMA training; and advise investors to consult an authorised adviser. Article 6 obliges issuers and licensed firms to use only registered finfluencers, pre-review content and publish a written selection policy.
Article 9 applies Section One of the Financial Activities Rulebook, including its sanctions, and allows suspension or cancellation of registration. Status: in force without amendment.
Natural persons in the UAE mainland who publish financial recommendations on any issuer, financial product, virtual asset or financial service; persons in the UAE recommending CMA-regulated products; and issuers and CMA-licensed entities that contract with finfluencers. Financial free zone activity and licensed consultancies are excluded.
English official text in 10 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 1 | Defines finfluencer, financial recommendation (including any investment content or analysis through traditional or social media, seminars or blogs), issuer and related parties. |
| Article 2 | Scope: mainland natural persons recommending any issuer, product, virtual asset or service, and anyone in the UAE recommending CMA-regulated ones; excludes CMA-approved information, licensed consultancies and financial free zone recommendations. |
| Article 3 | Registration route: an accredited or certified independent financial analyst, or a person of market influence (1,000 real followers, six months' experience, repeated professional recommendations, or third-party citation). |
| Article 4 | Application on the CMA form with fee payable on approval; decision within 5 business days; registration expires at calendar year end and is renewed within one month; first term runs to the end of the following year. |
| Article 5 | Disclosure duties: name, status and registration number on every recommendation; facts versus opinions; sources; price dates; prior 12-month recommendation; high-risk flag; holdings, compensation and relationships with the issuer; record-keeping; CMA training. |
| Article 6 | Issuers and licensed entities must confirm the finfluencer is registered, review content for legal compliance before publication, and publish a written policy on selecting finfluencers. |
| Article 7 | The Authority publishes the finfluencer register, periodically reviews published content and establishes a channel for reporting violations. |
| Article 9 | Applies Rulebook Section One and its penalties; allows suspension or cancellation of registration and enlisting other authorities to stop unregistered recommendations; repeals Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023. |
| Article 10 | In force from the day after publication in the Official Gazette. |
Article 9(3) applies the sanctions in Section One of the Financial Activities Rulebook: a notice, a fine of up to AED 100,000 and other administrative measures, with possible referral to the Public Prosecution. The Authority may suspend or cancel a finfluencer's registration and may seek the help of other authorities to stop an individual providing recommendations in breach of the decision.
We see this decision from two sides. Content creators who earn from investment commentary ask us to set up a company and residence for their media business, and we tell them that the company licence does not replace personal CMA registration if they post from the mainland, and that a financial free zone base changes the analysis. Brokers, fund managers and issuers we administer ask what they must check before paying an influencer. We are not licensed by the CMA and do not give investment advice; we set up the trading or media entity, document influencer agreements that require registration and disclosures, and coordinate with the client's licensed compliance officer on the Article 6 selection policy.
| Repeals | CMA Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023 |
| Cites | Former SCA Law |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
Former Financial Recommendations (Finfluencer) Regulation
Chairman decision regulating financial recommendations on social media, repealed by Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 on finfluencers.
Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (Rulebook)
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Capital Markets Law
Regulates the onshore capital market from 1 January 2026: financial activities subject to CMA licensing, capital market institutions, offering and listing of securities, …
VARA Marketing Regulations
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Grievances Regulation
Administrative resolution regulating grievances against resolutions relating to capital market transactions, including the grievance committee and its procedure.
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