MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 - National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Benchmarks
Q/ Which firms (local / international) do you consider to be your main competitors
in the region?
A/ The current range of products has capacity limits in place and is exclusively aimed at
institutions (regional and international) and, therefore, does not compete with the retailoriented
conventional offering from large regional banks. Given the superior performance
and fee structure, we expect to gain markets share at the expense of regional investment
banks targeting the same institutional/HNWI client base. There is only one international
direct competitor for the Alpha Fund – no other long/short funds have performed well
enough to present competition. The Value Fund is a highly differentiated strategy and
faces no direct competition. Given the pricing structure and the nature of the fund, we do
not see regional competition particularly on performance, but our funds present
substitute offerings to conventional long only funds offered by international firms with a
presence in the region. Alpha Fund competes by offering better risk management and
capital preservation while the Value Fund offers superior returns also with lower volatility
and lower correlation to the index.
Q/ Do your funds have ratings from agencies such as S&P?
A/ We do not currently have ratings with S&P, but are initiating the process in the first
week of December 2012.
Q/ What is the impact – if any - of recent regulatory changes on your business?
A/ Currently, the impact of the regulations relating to mutual funds is minimal as we do
not seek to compete for the retail segment on-shore. Any business we obtain now is as a
result of a reverse-enquiry basis within the DIFC. However, for future development of the
business, the new regulations in the UAE in particular as they stand now, will have the
impact of restricting the choice and quality of fund available to investors by restricting
that choice to a few large institutions. For future products, we would look to partner with
the right on-shore institutions who would offer products to their client base managed by
us.
Q/ What are your expansion plans ?
A/ In line with Arqaam’s positioning as a specialist Emerging Markets investment bank,
we are on track to expand our product offering beyond the MENA region, in which we
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