MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 - National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Gulf Cooperation Council Region
incomplete nature). At end-2011, this survey identified 523 funds in its dataset (with
assets of US$ 33.2 billion), 432 locally domiciled funds (assets under management
US$ 30.3 billion), and 318 funds with the GCC or one of the constituent markets as their
geographic focus (assets under management US$ 27.31 billion).
Number of Mutual Funds in Dataset*
(June 2012)
Locally
Incorporated
Funds
Locally Sponsored
Funds (incl.
domiciled abroad)
Funds by
Geographic
Focus
Bahrain 42 15 1
Kuwait 65 84 52
Oman 12 19 7
Qatar 9 13 12
S. Arabia 250 243 145
UAE 43 96 19
GCC 71
MENA 85
Source: Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company *Should be considered incomplete
and solely indicative. For example, in 2011, Bahrain had 127 locally incorporated
funds, 61 locally sponsored funds, and 1 with Bahrain as its geographic focus
according to the Central Bank of Bahrain, while the dataset here for Bahrain only
includes 42 and 15 funds, respectively for which factsheets could be obtained.
Changes in the regulatory environment in UAE has led to domicile changes
Locally incorporated funds are those that are domiciled in the relevant country. Local
companies, however, also sponsor funds that are domiciled elsewhere (ranging from
Bahrain, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Ireland, Isle of Man, Luxembourg,
and Virgin Islands). According to the sample data, locally sponsored funds (irrespective
of domicile) were fewer in number than locally domiciled funds in Saudi Arabia, for
instance, indicating the presence of a number of funds launched by subsidiaries of
foreign entities operating there. On the opposite side of the spectrum, UAE domiciled
funds are relatively few in number, while the number of funds - irrespective of domicile -
sponsored by asset managers based in the UAE remain higher. Recent changes in
regulations in the UAE are causing fund sponsors to review fund domiciles. The
changes may lead to a shift away from “non-equivalent” jurisdictions to
“recognised jurisdictions” and onshore.
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