ADX’s transformative year elevates market leadership and sets the standard for capital market development

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) Group, one of the world’s top 20 exchanges by market capitalization, delivered a series of landmark milestones and market firsts in 2025, a transformational year that also marked its 25th anniversary.

During the year, ADX strengthened its position as the second-largest exchange in the region and reinforced its global standing through the establishment of the ADX Group, which brought together the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Abu Dhabi Clear (AD Clear), and Abu Dhabi Central Securities Depository (AD CSD) under a unified structure. This strategic evolution advanced the exchange’s journey toward developed market standards by introducing a high-performance, integrated trading, clearing, and settlement infrastructure that supports multiple asset classes, including equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), debt instruments, and derivatives, on a single platform, broadening market access, enhancing cross-market connectivity, and facilitating deeper investment flows that underscore Abu Dhabi’s role as a leading global investment destination.

This strategic transformation was complemented by a series of market-first milestones. ADX became the first exchange in the Arab world to cross-list two U.S.-domiciled ETFs listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), together representing approximately USD 10 billion in assets under management (AUM). The exchange also introduced the region’s first thematic ETFs, one focused on quantum computing and another tracking the companies that are driving the global growth of AI, alongside the MENA region’s first distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based digital bond. In parallel, ADX expanded its global connectivity by welcoming its first remote retail trading member and first general clearing member, further strengthening the depth, accessibility, and international reach of the market.

Corporate and strategic milestones

2025 marked another year in which the ADX Group cemented its central role in supporting Abu Dhabi’s economic momentum, delivering strong market performance and reinforcing its position among the world’s leading exchanges. Since January 2020, the ADX index has recorded sustainable growth, outperforming both the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the FTSE Emerging Markets Index, underscoring the exchange’s depth, liquidity, and long-term appeal to global investors.

With total market capitalization surpassing 3.1 trillion dirhams, the ADX Group continued to expand pathways for capital formation, enabling companies to raise funds for local and international expansion while allowing more than 1.2 million investors representing over 200 nationalities to participate in the emirate’s economic success.

Listed companies generated approximately 140 billion dirhams in aggregate net profit during the first nine months of the year, reflecting around 19% year on year increase, and distributed 74 billion dirhams in cash dividends in 2025, reinforcing the exchange’s strong income profile. Trading activity further validated the exchange’s strategic direction. Total trading value exceeded 385 billion dirhams, representing 12.6% growth year-on-year, while average trading value increased by 12.1% to 1.52 billion dirhams. These figures reflect deeper participation across investor segments and a more resilient and liquid secondary market.

Alongside market growth, the ADX Group continued to prioritize investor empowerment and accessibility. The exchange advanced its investor education agenda through the introduction of AI-driven solutions designed to simplify investment decisions by transforming complex disclosures into intuitive, user-friendly insights. Integration with TAMM, Abu Dhabi’s unified government services platform, aligned ADX directly with the emirate’s digital strategy, enabling more than 11 million citizens, residents, and businesses across the UAE to register for and access the capital markets seamlessly.

Global connectivity also continued to expand. Partnerships with platforms such as eToro, Thndr, WIO Bank, X Cube, and Interactive Brokers strengthened international engagement, while the Tabadul platform further extended the ADX Group’s global reach. The onboarding of two additional exchanges to the platform and the signing of two memorandums of understanding with peer exchanges marked another step in ADX’s integration journey, opening new opportunities for cross-listings, product innovation, and multi-market access.

The ADX Group launched the “Market Intelligence Lab” at Liwa University, the second such initiative under its financial literacy program, complementing the enhanced Virtual Trading Platform, academic partnerships, and targeted financial education campaigns. Together, these initiatives reflect the exchange’s dedication to equipping students with practical skills needed to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application.

Key pillar in Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic vision

The ADX Group continues to operate at the intersection of strong economic fundamentals, sustained diversification, and long-term capital formation. Investors and issuers benefit from Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s stable macroeconomic environment, rising foreign direct investment, and expanding non-oil economy. The exchange provides institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, pension and retirement funds, and global asset managers with efficient access to the primary and secondary markets, boosting liquidity, market resilience, and orderly price discovery.

Retail participation is also expanding in both scale and sophistication, supported by innovation, digital access, and a growing range of investment products. The listing of five new ETFs during the year broadened access to transparent, diversified investment strategies and reinforced ADX’s leadership as the largest and most active ETF market in the region, bringing the total number of listed ETFs to 20.

The ADX Group’s attractive dividend culture continues to underpin long-term wealth creation. Launched in December, the FTSE ADX Dividend Stars Index, the region’s first income-focused benchmark, comprises 17 highly liquid stocks that distributed more than 52 billion dirhams to investors in 2025. These constituents accounted for over 70% of total market dividends, with an average yield of 5.28%, significantly exceeding the 1.5% to 3% range of global peers, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a compelling destination for income-oriented investors.

Looking ahead to 2026

The ADX Group will build on the significant progress and digital evolution of 2025 by focusing on deepening value. This means providing a world-class digital market infrastructure to lower friction, improve transparency, and support sustainable growth.

Supported by the stability of Abu Dhabi’s economic vision, the strength of its sovereign wealth funds, and commitment to capital market development, the exchange can plan long-term and invest in future-ready infrastructure to lead global market evolution. This includes ensuring that the market setup, regulations, governance, and post-trade capabilities meet international standards from the industry to bolster its role as a leader in the field.

These priorities enable the ADX Group to expand access, foster long-term capital growth, and improve market liquidity and price discovery, marking an increasingly mature and resilient capital market.