EMIRATES NBD Asset Management has consolidated its position as one of the leading regional asset managers, announcing strong full-year growth in Assets Under Management (AUM), as well as top quartile returns across the bulk of its fund range. The business’ reputation as the asset manager of choice for institutional clients was further cemented by 2017 inflows of over $1 billion in segregated mandates from top tier clients across the region. Among the funds, greatest asset growth was achieved by the Emirates Global Sukuk Fund, which grew by 62%, while the Emirates MENA Fixed Income Fund grew by 31%, reaching $194 million.

In addition to strong inflows across the portfolio, Emirates NBD Asset Management’s multi-asset funds delivered stellar performances. The Emirates Active Managed Fund delivered returns of 18.50%, while the Emirates Balanced Managed Fund and Emirates Global Quarterly Income Fund returned 14.08% and 10.38% respectively. Managed by Jupiter Asset Management since September 2014, all three funds are in the top quartile of their respective peer group and are outperforming their composite benchmarks.

Salman Bajwa, senior executive officer at Emirates NBD Asset Management, commented: “We are very pleased to announce another strong year for our business, which has not only continued to grow in size but also in terms of the profile of investors coming to our platform. This year we have expanded our footprint across the GCC by adding some of the largest regional institutions as clients and increased our penetration across international investors, particularly in Europe.

“It’s also rewarding to see new strategies, such as the Emirates Islamic India Equity Fund, deliver such impressive returns and asset growth, confirming the validity of the investment call and identification of investor needs. For 2018 we see clear areas of growth for our investor base. For international clients, we will continue discussions around increasing exposure to the MENA Fixed Income asset class as a consistent yield provider, with low volatility and sound underlying fundamentals.

“We remain positive on the prospects of the Saudi equity market being upgraded to Emerging Market status by FTSE Russell in March and MSCI in June, and are preparing investors for that. At the same time, we are in active discussions with our international partners to bring products and opportunities to GCC investors to diversify their exposure.”

Usman Ahmed, managing director, investments, at Emirates NBD Asset Management, commented: “Our investment strategies have continued to deliver superior returns to clients, due to the hard work of a team of trusted, experienced and specialized portfolio managers, who take pride in long-term relationships with investors. On the Fixed Income side, we have worked on delivering strong returns with reduced volatility.

“For Q4 the Emirates Emerging Market Corporate Bond Absolute Return Fund ranked in the first quartile of the Morningstar Global Emerging Markets Corporate Bond peer group on both an absolute and risk adjusted return basis. Similarly, the Emirates MENA Fixed Income Fund outperformed the Middle East and North Africa average peer group by 1.56% returning 5.75% to investors.” — SG