Latest Features

Stand and deliver
19 Jan 2012
Expert Comment, Features, Interviews, Investment, investors
Much has been made of local investors’ reluctance to invest in local fund managers. Mena FM asks investors why they look past the region and what local managers can do to change their minds
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The best is yet to come
9 Jan 2012
Expert Comment, Features, Lebanon
With strong banking and private equity sectors, Lebanon’s niche markets are good bets for long-term investment. But does Lebanon have what it takes to be Mena’s next major finance hub?
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Inflection point
3 Jan 2012
Arab Spring, Expert Comment, Features, Invesco
The Arab Spring has the potential to reshape the Mena fund industry – but will this change be for the better? A visit to Egypt suggests there will be more to the recovery than the expansion of the local financial industry
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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?
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Building blocks
21 Nov 2011
EBRD, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Features, Interviews
The EBRD is setting its sights on Mena’s Mediterranean markets with a €2.5bn plan to stimulate growth in the region’s fund industry. With investment due to start before the year’s end, all it needs now is to find the right managers
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Breaking new ground
14 Nov 2011
Alan Durrant, Features, Interviews, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, NBAD
Already one of the largest asset managers in the UAE, NBAD is now diversifying, with a new emphasis on fixed income, and an investment group business that seeks to maximise the potential of external fund managers
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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
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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
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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
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Down but not out
19 Oct 2011
Features, Insight Discovery, research
Is Mena asset management in terminal decline? A recent report from Insight Discovery certainly seemed to confirm fears that regional advisers are shying away from local investments. Mena FM takes a closer to find that things are not quite as bad as they seem.
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Thinking big
17 Oct 2011
Deon Vernooy, Emirates NBD, Features, Interviews
Over the past four years, Emirates NBD’s asset management business has grown into one of the UAE’s leading players. But senior executive officer Deon Vernooy has bigger fish to fry, with expansion planned in Europe and Asia and a high-profile investment partnership on the cards
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Crisis management
10 Oct 2011
Features, Feri Institutional Advisors, FOHF, hedge funds, Interviews, Marcus Storr
Mena fund funds have evolved markedly in the past three years, but many investors are still waiting for the right time to allocate. Feri Institutional Advisors’ head of hedge fund manager selection Marcus Storr reveals why he is almost ready to invest in a Mena manager and what was holding him back in 2008
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