Expert Comment

Tailor-made solutions
12 Dec 2011
discretionary portfolio management, Expert Comment, Features
Discretionary portfolios now represent around two thirds of all assets under management. This growth is good news for the industry, but with Mena investors demanding much more from their asset managers, does this expansion in the client base come at a price?
Read Full Article »
Solid as Iraq
7 Nov 2011
Expert Comment, Features, Iraq
After decades of unrest, Iraq suddenly represents an exciting investment prospect for fund managers across the world. Three upcoming telecoms IPOs look set to bolster the country’s $2-3bn stock exchange as the opportunities just keep on coming
Read Full Article »
Ready for the aftershocks?
31 Oct 2011
Expert Comment, Features, Libya
Libya’s investment potential has stalled in 2011 as the country fought to resolve a drawn-out civil war. But as the sun sets on the old regime, there are opportunities amid the rubble for both fund managers and investors alike
Read Full Article »
Value in volatility
24 Oct 2011
Expert Comment, Features, Samena Capital, Special Situations
Current unrest in the Mena region is driving new opportunities in cross-border investment and a ave of special situations funds are ready to take advantage of market dislocations with a long-term view
Read Full Article »
Bridging the Gulf
19 Sep 2011
DFSA, Expert Comment, Features, Islamic Finance, Simon Gray, sukuk
Islamic finance has soared in popularity in the GCC and this growth looks set to continue as even non-Muslims begin to see the long-term benefits of Shariah compliance
Read Full Article »
The shape of things to come
15 Sep 2011
Expert Comment, Features, Insight Discovery, Nigel Sillitoe, Regulations, UAE
The UAE’s ubiquitous new fund regulations have been widely discussed behind closed doors, but it’s hard to tell exactly what effect they will have on the local fund industry and the wider GCC
Read Full Article »
It’s brighter than you think
8 Sep 2011
Bahrain, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Boyd Winton, Expert Comment, Features
Bahrain's fund industry has taken a beating in 2011, following a period of serious civil unrest. However, the country's Economic Development Board insists that its fundamentals are strong enough to survive the crisis.
Read Full Article »
High risk, high return
22 Aug 2011
Amrith Mukkamala, commodities, Expert Comment, Features, GCC, KMEFIC
Commodities represent an attractive opportunity for investors but GCC-based commodity producers can offer much more than the usual basket of products. The time has come for global investors to reconsider the high-risk, high-return profiles of the GCC’s commodity producers
Read Full Article »
Six more months
16 Aug 2011
Expert Comment, Features, MSCI, Qatar, UAE
For more than a year the financial centres of Qatar and the UAE have been implementing strategic changes in the hope of winning MSCI’s coveted emerging market status. But the decision has now been held back until December prompting mixed feelings on what this means for Mena
Read Full Article »
A lasting bond
15 Jul 2011
Emirates NBD, Expert Comment, Features, fixed income
Mena’s fixed-income market has benefited from recent market instability, offering a viable long-term alternative strategy to investors. The evidence now suggests that it’s not just Mena investors who are catching on to the evolving opportunities in the bond sector
Read Full Article »
The bigger picture
27 Jun 2011
Capital Generation Partners, Expert Comment, Features, Interviews, investors, Searches
At a time when the majority of investors are reconsidering their Mena exposure, Capital Generation Partners’ Ian Barnard offers an insight into why his firm has pulled back from emerging markets and how Mena can win back the confidence of investors
Read Full Article »
The long and short of it
12 Jun 2011
Expert Comment, Features, Gulfmena, hedge funds, Interviews
The Mena region’s hedge fund industry is all but non-existent, but those who are driving the alternative investment market see enormous potential for future growth. Alternative investments specialist GulfMena is at the cutting edge of the sector’s development, and CEO Haissam Arabi explains why normalising hedging techniques could boost the region’s investment prospects
Read Full Article »