Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” has launched, in a press conference held on September 1st, 2015 at Four Points Hotel, Markaz MENA Islamic Fund (MMIF), that seeks capital appreciation through investing in a diversified basket of Shariah compliant listed equities & investment Funds, in addition to unlisted & listed Sukuk in the target markets. Markaz MENA Islamic Fund is one of three investment funds launched by Markaz this year.
The fund will be managed actively based on selecting companies with strong growth in MENA markets and that has sustainable business models, whilst it addresses risk reward component. The fund will be managed so as to include only best investment ideas with an investment approach that focuses on quality assets backed by strong in-house research, fair-value based approach, breadth of coverage to ensure superior stock selection and depth of understanding which allows speedy response to events. A holistic risk management strategy is employed to identify & manage risk associated with equity markets. The compliance is set at different Investment Universe, Research, Portfolio Construction & Portfolio Monitoring.
Markaz has a track-record of building solid performing funds across asset classes, and with Ten Lipper-Reuters awards under our belt in the last three years alone, Markaz has built a reputation for being the best performing fund manager on a risk-adjusted basis. Markaz increased its assets under management since 2010 by more than 10%, compared to industry aggregate which decreased substantially during the same period. Markaz local equity funds and portfolios have outperformed the market index by over 2% on an annualized basis over the past five years. The GCC equity funds continued to generate impressive returns (8.2% on an annualized basis over the past five years) attracting significant new mandates from institutions.
In 2014, Markaz received “Best Asset Manager in Kuwait” award from Global Investor Magazine for the fifth consecutive year, as well as from EMEA Finance. Markaz also won two “Best Investment Bank in Kuwait” awards from Euromoney, Global Finance and EMEA Finance. These awards were based on demonstrated breadth of capabilities and excellence in execution of client mandates across debt market transactions, equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and advisory work.
Capital Intelligence, the international rating agency, affirmed in December 2014 the rating of Markaz debenture bond at ‘BBB’. The rating reflects Markaz's well established franchise and its conservative business model, supported by Markaz’s good liquidity position, its low leverage and its growing earnings. The agency classified the outlook on the rating as ‘Stable’, based on Markaz’s track record of building solid performing funds across asset classes and the reputation for being the best performing fund manager on a risk-adjusted basis.
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About Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”
Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C “Markaz”, with total assets under management of over KD 1.10 billion (US Dollars 3.66 billion) as of June 30, 2015, was established in 1974 has become one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the Arabian Gulf Region. Markaz was listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in 1997.
For further information, please contact:
Osama Al Musallam
Senior Officer
Media & Communications Department
Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C "Markaz"
Tel: +965 2224 8000 ext. 1819
Dir.: +965 2224 8075
Fax: +965 2241 4499
Email: [email protected]
www.markaz.com