MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 - National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Benchmarks
index which includes companies from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivorie,
Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey
and UAE.
In April 2012, MSCI introduced the MSCI Frontier Markets 100 Index. The
Index is highly correlated to the broader MSCI Frontier Markets Index, but is
composed of 100 of its largest and most liquid constituents. The new index
provides coverage of frontier markets while placing emphasis on tradability.
In March 2012, MSCI, S&P Indices and FTSE announced the creation of the
first ever trade association for the trade industry. The Index Industry
Association (IIA) will form an official, representative body for the global index
industry, with a remit that includes educating investors on the attributes and
role of indices within the investment process and advocating the interests of
index users and providers worldwide.
In February 2012, S&P Indices extended the range of its High Beta family with
the launch of S&P BMI Emerging Markets High Beta Index. The index
measure performance of 200 stocks in 21 markets including MENA countries
Egypt, Morocco that are most sensitive to changes in market returns. They
are designed to serve as benchmarks for investors who wish to take
advantage of market volatility. Constituents are weighted relative to their level
of market sensitivity with most sensitive stocks receiving highest weights.
In August 2011, Standard and Poor’s announced that it has expanded S&P
Shariah Index series with the introduction of S&P Pan Africa Shariah Index.
The index is designed to serve as benchmark for shariah compliant
investments in African continent. The S&P Pan Africa Shariah Index is
comprised of shariah compliant equities from 12 countries (Botswana, Ghana,
Cote D’Ivorie, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco,
Tunisia and South Africa).
In December 2011, Standard and Poor’s Indices launched the S&P AFE 40,
an index designed to measure the performance of 40 leading companies from
the Pan-Arab region. S&P Indices partnered with the Arab Federation of
Exchanges (AFE) to create the Index which includes companies from Bahrain,
Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi
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