Funds Hub
Money managers under the microscope
GCC fund firms face structural flaws: Lipper
By Dunny P. Moonesawmy, Head of Fund Research for Lipper in Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The views expressed are his own.
Spare a thought for the fund managers trying to make their business work in the Middle East and north Africa (MENA) this year.
Those investing in home markets have faced the uncertainty and drama of the Arab Spring and the wear and tear on affected markets. The Egyptian Stock Exchange was closed for several months while in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, all markets ended the first half in the red (even if the Abu Dhabi index and the Saudi Tadawul All Shares resisted well, down 0.57 percent and 0.67 percent respectively.)
Moreover, the fund industry in the region faces some deep structural flaws.
Taking the GCC alone, there are 101 fund management companies in the region managing $28.5 billion of assets between them, according to Lipper data. Those firms run a total of 337 funds with average assets under management at $84 million; taking a median figure to iron out the inflating effect of a few bigger funds that figure is just short of $20 million. To see a graphic showing AuM by asset class in the GCC, click here.
Morning line-up: Banks find love in the hedgies, and heroes in our midst
News and views on the hedge fund industry from Reuters and elsewhere:
Big league hedgies buy banks – Reuters
Saving the world, one trade at a time – Economist
The quant fund in need of a renaissance – FT
Message to FoHFs: Work harder; cut fees – Reuters
Gulf cash set to flow? – Bloomberg
Morning Line-Up
Hedge fund stories from the past 24 hours from Reuters and elsewhere:
London mayor Johnson accused over hedge funds’ election donations - The Guardian
Deephaven Capital’s Bhatia plans Asia fund - Bloomberg
Gulf-focused fund to tap returning appetite - Financial Times
Royal Dutch Shell pension fund to expand alternatives allocation - Wall Street Journal
Morning line-up
Hedge fund stories from the past 24 hours from Reuters and elsewhere:
Analysts’ picks beat mutual funds – FT
New kids on the prime brokerage block – WSJ
Citadel gearing up to be the next Goldman? - Seeking Alpha
US hedge fund eyes Gulf opportunities – Reuters
