MENA Asset Management Survey 2012

Dubai International Financial Centre Authority ING Investment Management Middle East Lipper

Shashank Srivastava, CEO of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority), said “The QFC Authority is delighted to be a sponsor of the MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 once again. It is an invaluable and comprehensive source of current opinion and information on the mutual fund industry in our region and demonstrates the significant development potential of the industry for all market participants. We at the QFC Authority are strongly supporting this development and, in particular, the growth of Qatar and the QFC as a regional hub for asset management, offering firms one of the most business friendly tax environments, a legal system based on English common law, efficient administration and a robust regulatory regime.”

Chirag Shah, Head of Strategy & Corporate Planning at DIFC Authority said, “The fund management industry in the Middle East and North Africa is experiencing tremendous growth, with asset managers in the region quadrupling and assets under management in the region increasing three-fold over the last decade. Similarly, we have witnessed a positive response within the DIFC, where 11 of the top 20 money managers are now based in the Centre and the first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in the UAE has been established.” “We are pleased to support this growth through our participation in this year’s MENA Asset Management Survey, which provides invaluable information to global players seeking potential opportunities in the region,” Shah continued.

Graham Hayward, Partner and Middle East Financial Services Leader at PwC said: “It has again been a great pleasure for PwC to support this excellent publication which now not only brings together information on the MENA mutual fund industry but it also provides an analytical perspective and valuable source of reference for anyone with an interest in the Funds sector."

• At the end of June 2012, the survey identified 1,424 funds with assets of US$ 89.6 billion. The dataset includes locally domiciled funds, local company sponsored funds irrespective of domicile, and funds with the MENA or one of the constituent markets as their geographic focus. There were 1340 MENA domiciled funds with assets under management of US$ 86.6 billion.

• In 2012H1, MENA domiciled fund assets increased by 3% from end-2011. There were an estimated US$ 2.47 billion in net inflows to these funds. The increase was primarily attributable to a US$ 3.33 billion increase in money market fund assets (conventional and sharia).

• In 2011, MENA domiciled fund assets decreased by 13% from end-2010 to US$ 87.8 billion for funds tracked in the database. There were an estimated US$ 13 billion in net outflows from these funds. The decrease was primarily attributable to a US$ 6.9 billion decrease in money market fund assets.

Global mutual fund assets stood at US$ 24.8 trillion (-4.5% y-o-y) at the end of 2012Q2 in 73,490 funds according to data compiled by Investment Company institute (ICI) from 46 countries. The decline in mutual fund assets largely emanated from the decline in global equity prices from a year earlier and due to Euro weakness and the exchange rate effect weighing on European fund assets in US$ terms.

Worldwide funds experienced US$ 91 billion in net inflows in 2012Q2 (net inflows were US$ 193 billion in Q1) according to ICI, with flows into bond funds (US$ 155 billion), while equity and money market funds saw outflows (US$ 18 billion and US$ 53 billion, respectively). Money market funds have experienced outflows since 2009Q1 due to a near zero interest rate environment. In 2012Q2, equity fund assets were lower than the first quarter and also lower than in 2011Q2. MSCI World index was down by -7.2% y-o-y in June 2012. The index recovered later as Eurozone fears eased somewhat. MSCI World index was up by 13.2% y-o-y in 2012.

At the end of June 2012, this survey identified 1,424 funds (with assets of US$ 89.6 billion). At end-2011, there were 1,438 funds in the dataset (with assets of US$ 87.1 billion). The dataset includes funds domiciled in the Middle East and North Africa region, local company sponsored funds irrespective of domicile, and funds with MENA or one of the constituent markets as their geographic focus. The dataset includes 1340 MENA domiciled funds (assets under management US$ 86.6 billion), and 1,085 funds with MENA or one of the constituent markets as their geographic focus (assets under management US$ 74.5 billion).

In 2012H1, MENA domiciled fund assets increased by 3% from end-2011 to US$ 89.6 billion for funds tracked in the database. There were an estimated US$ 2.47 billion in net inflows to these funds. The increase was primarily attributable to a US$ 3.33 billion increase in money market fund assets (conventional and sharia). Trade finance funds saw net inflows of US$ 564 million. Equity fund assets (including sub-types) fell by 2.9%, with net outflows of US$590 million. Largest 4 funds in MENA were money market funds.

In 2011, MENA domiciled fund assets decreased by 13% from end-2010 to US$ 87.8 billion for funds tracked in the database. There were an estimated US$ 13 billion in net outflows from these funds. The decrease was primarily attributable to a US$ 6.9 billion decrease in money market fund assets. Trade finance funds saw net inflows estimated at US$ 526 million. Aggregate equity fund assets fell by 21.7%, with net outflows of US$ 5.5 billion.

Background to MENA Asset Management Survey 2012
Dr. Gıyas Gökkent, Group Chief Economist | National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Three years after the launch of the first edition of this book, it continues to provide a description of the regional asset management industry and act as a catalyst for its development.

This year’s edition expands coverage to more countries in the Middle East and North Africa region and provides additional content to render this publication the definitive reference source on the regional asset management industry. The book is the result of industry-wide participation and contains some data which are published for the first time.

To download/read MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 and other economic research and reports, please visithttp://www.nbad.com/en/Researches/Pages/nbad-research.aspx

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Mar 18, 2013

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