• Global equity funds outperform their respective benchmarks during the first quarter 2013
    Posted: Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Global Investment House (Global) announced today that the equity funds managed by the MENA Asset Management team have recorded remarkable performance during the first quarter of the year 2013, outperforming their respective benchmarks.

The Global GCC Large Cap Fund has outperformed it respective benchmark reporting a return of 9.42% compared to 5.89% by the S&P index. Global GCC Islamic Fund, which aims to maximize returns by investing in a portfolio of companies compliant with the Islamic shariaa, has reported 7.05% compared to 5.02%reported by the respective benchmark.

On the other hand, Global Al-Maamoun Fund also outperformed its respective benchmark by recording 6.48% compared to a negative performance of 1.05% during the first quarter of 2013 reported by the benchmark. The fund aims to grow the invested capital by investing in companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

Global Saudi Equity Fund, managed by the Asset Management team in Global Saudi, performed well during the period recording 8.3% compared to the performance of the Saudi market index, which stood at 4.8%. Al-Bait Al-Mali Fund, which invests in stocks listed on Doha Stock Market and are compliant with the Islamic Shariaa, reported 6.8%, outperforming the respected index which recorded 4.2% during the period.

Commenting on the remarkable performance of the funds, the Vice President of MENA Asset Management Bader Al-Ghanim said, "The good performance of the GCC markets during the first quarter 2013 is a result of the positive developments in the markets and in particular the 2012 corporate results announced which reported a 4.5% growth compared to 2011. Our stock selection process along with the investment strategy have contributed to the good performance of the funds which outperformed their respective indices".

Al-Ghanim added, "Our future outlook to the regional capital markets remains positive. We believe that the strong GDP growth, growing domestic demand and rising government spending on infrastructure projects will drive markets upwards. The Saudi market is still the most favorable due to its demographics and the steady increase in government spending. We also believe that the capital markets in the United Arab Emirates began to recover, and will benefit from rising real estate prices and the increase in number of tourists. On the other hand, we see investment opportunities in some of the operational companies in Kuwait."

It is worth noting that the MENA Asset Management team manages assets on behalf of its clients worth USD 1.2 billion through eleven funds and several portfolios with different strategies.

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