Amani Al-Omani, Senior Vice President of Local and GCC Investments at Markaz said “We are very happy to win the Kuwait Equity Fund of the Year award, which is a testimonial to Markaz achievements in the mutual fund management industry in Kuwait and the GCC region. We are committed to achieving the best performance for our funds through following a research driven methodology and investing in high quality assets.”
Al-Omani continues “The Kuwait Stock Exchange is expected to perform well in 2010 which will be reflected on “Mumtaz” performance. This is supported by the approval of the Capital Market Authority Law and the passing of the Government’s Development Plan, which will boost the operational business of listed companies. However, some negative factors remain such as the restricted financing provided by banks.”
S&P has recently renewed the Fund’s "A" rating and “Mumtaz” is also a winner of three Lipper-Reuters awards for best risk-adjusted returns.
"Mumtaz" is an actively managed fund, with weekly liquidity. Its objective is outperforming the KIC index. The fund has a core of mid-/ long-term holdings and investment decisions rely heavily on research driven top-down considerations.
Markaz manages a major market share in the region through its funds; it’s ranked the first in Kuwait and the fourth in the GCC. As of January 31, 2010 the Markaz Local and GCC Investments team managed assets of approximately KD 543 million (USD 1.89 billion), of which more than 60% are managed on behalf of institutional investors; while 11% of the AUM is managed by "Mumtaz".
Markaz’s track record in asset management in Kuwait and the GCC extends back to more than two decades. In 1983, the company started offering portfolio management services in the Kuwaiti Market and in 1999 it entered the fund management field with the launch of the first Kuwaiti Equities Fund – "Mumtaz".