GLOBAL INVESTOR MENA AWARDS 2022

Emirates NBD has been selected as winner of the Best Asset Manager award at the Global Investor MENA Awards 2022 while Boubyan Capital secured the Best Wealth Manager title.

EFG Hermes also performed well in the past year resulting in the Egyptian financial services company not only being awarded the Best Broker nod in the MENA region but also in Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

CI Capital was also recognised as the Best Cash Manager award and Best Asset Manager – Egypt.

The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange has once again won in the Best Exchange and also secured the Best Clearing House categories, while CME Group returned to win the Best International Exchange title.

Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Capital has remained on track, leading them to secure the Best Equities Manager and Best Asset Manager – Saudi Arabia awards once again.

HSBC stayed strong and placed first in the sub-custodian category but also managed to win the Best Custodian title for the MENA region. The multinational bank also secured the Fund Administrator award for 2022.

Citi has been awarded the Best Transition Manager award once again. In addition to winning the Best ETF Provider and Sharia’ Manager nods, Al Rayan Investment has also been recognised as Best Asset Manager in Qatar.

SCL Advisory has earned the Best Consultant award, while Best Sukuk Manager was handed out to SICO who has also managed to secure the Bahrain Asset Manager and Bahrain Broker wins.

Methodology

The 2022 MENA Awards opened on 5 October 2022 and saw firms across the region submit their entries for a chance to win an award across 17 regional and 24 country categories. Entries shut on 21 November.

The companies were asked to submit their entry form along with any supporting evidence. The consideration period for the companies ranged from the 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022.

The selected winners win not only the prestigious title by Euromoney’s Global Investor Group but also an opportunity to contribute to a profile in a new project coming out in 2023, The MENA Finance Guide.

The full list of winners:

Regional Categories

Asset Manager: Emirates NBD Capital

Broker: EFG Hermes

Cash Manager: CI Capital

Clearing House: Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange

Consultant: SCL Advisory

Equities Manager: Al Rajhi Capital

ETF Provider: Al Rayan Investment

Exchange: Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange

Fund Administrator: HSBC

Global Custodian: HSBC

International Exchange: CME Group

Sharia’ Manager: Al Rayan Investment

Sub-Custodian: HSBC

Sukuk Manager: SICO

Transition Manager: Citi

Wealth Manager: Boubyan Capital

Country Categories

Bahrain Asset Manager: SICO

Bahrain Broker: SICO

Egypt Asset Manager: CI Capital

Egypt Broker: EFG Hermes

Jordan Asset Manager: Al Arabi Investment Group

Jordan Broker: Al Arabi Investment Group

Kuwait Asset Manager: NBK Capital

Kuwait Broker: EFG Hermes

Kuwait Wealth Manager: Kuwait Financial Centre

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Oman Asset Manager: Bank Muscat

Oman Broker: EFG Hermes

Qatar Asset Manager: Al Rayan Investments

Qatar Broker: QNB Financial Services

Saudi Asset Manager: Al Rajhi Capital

Saudi Broker: EFG Hermes

UAE Asset Manager: Al Dhabi Capital

UAE Broker: EFG Hermes

Emirates Ndb Capital

Asset Manager of the Year

Dubai-based Emirates NBD Capital (EMCAP), the global investment bank of Emirates NBD Group, was the recipient of the 2022 Asset Manager of the Year award. Its reach covers the GCC region, Asia, Africa and Europe. Between January and November 2022, the firm participated in nearly 20 public transactions spanning the GCC and Asian regions, raising over USD15bn for sovereign, financial institutions and corporate clients. It has three areas of focus: equity capital markets and corporate finance advisory, loan syndications and debt capital markets.

EMCAP highlights the work of its equity capital

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EFG Hermes was recognised several times in Global Investor’s 2022 MENA awards, including in five regional broker categories and for the coveted MENA Broker of the Year award.

Its securities brokerage business covers 12 markets in the MENA region as well as over 75 frontier emerging markets (FEMs). This global coverage is reflected in the growth of the brokerage’s client base, which comprises over 1,800 Western, GCC and high-networth institutions, as well as over 140,000 retail and VIP individuals. In parallel, its research team now covers 83% of the MENA market capitalisation (or 327 companies), and 37% of the coverage universe for FEMs (or 120 companies).

The Egyptian financial services company has had another good year, capitalising on the market recovery in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic in 2021 and 2022.

In Egypt, EFG topped market rankings, rising its market share to 44.6% in the first half of 2022 (up from 33.8% in 2021). The firm was the preferred broker for foreign investors, capturing over than 61% of the foreign flow in the market during the same period. Two successful advisory roles the firm highlights include its role in the dual listing of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings in Egypt and the UK, and the sale by Bank markets team, which closed several initial public offering deals in 2022, including that of several regional utility companies (for instance, Dubai’s DEWA), Dubai-based school operator Taaleem and real estate company TECOM. The total cumulated IPO proceeds reached USD8.5bn and total demand raised over USD170bn. It has also acted on a number of high-profile privatisation transactions.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, EMCAP Vice Chairman and Managing Director, noted in a recent financial report that ‘Emirates NBD played a leading role in the country’s recent IPOs, enabling new and existing customers to access and trade shares on the Dubai Financial Markets.

Audi of 100% of the share capital of its Egypt-based subsidiary, Bank Audi S.A.E, to First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC.

In Kuwait, the firm grew its market share to 31% in the first half of 2022, placing it in second position, though it captured nearly two-thirds of the foreign flow in the market.

EFG Hermes was in the top six in terms of market share in Oman (15% in 1H22). EFG Hermes Oman also captured nearly 15% of the foreign flow during the same period.

The firm was also strong in Saudi Arabia, placing among the top independent brokers and foreign brokers in 2022. In terms of foreign market share, EFG Hermes was successful in capturing a growing proportion of the qualified foreign investor market. It’s worth noting that the firm’s market share from Swaps and QFI business was around 5% in both FY21 and 1H22.

In the UAE, EFG Hermes notes that it was in second place in the first half of 2022, growing its share to 21.3%.

For Dubai, EFG Hermes was first, on account of a 43.8% market share, and in Abu Dhabi, it was second with a 16.5% slice of the market. The firm captured 42% of the foreign flow on both exchanges combined during the same period.

AL RAJHI CAPITAL Equities Manager of the Year

Al Rajhi Capital, the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rajhi Bank, won the 2022 Equities Manager and Saudi Arabia Asset Manager of the Year awards.

It is one of the largest fund managers in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region, with assets under management around SAR60 billion (GBP12 billion), one of the largest financial advisors in the debt markets, and a global leader in the issuance of sukuk. The firm notes it is a ‘high-quality Islamic Shariah compliant investment solutions provider that constantly endeavours to launch innovative products and customer-focused initiatives’.

Al Rajhi Capital was in the news in late 2022, advising on the public offering of Al-Rajhi Bank’s Tier 1 Sukuk on Saudi’s Tadawul exchange, which attracted over 125,000 subscribers. This is the first sukuk of its kind for a financial institution in the Saudi Arabia.

The firm highlights several contributing factors to its success. Its ‘strong structured and well-defined analytical approach, which includes quantitative and qualitative

Al Rayan Investment

filters to select investments, coupled with a good analysis,’ is the foundation of its strategy. In addition, real-time monitoring and updating of pricing, market opportunities and trade volumes ensure it is well-placed to support clients’ investment objectives.

It also credits several principles as an integral part of its strategy:

Superior risk adjusted performance: Al Rajhi Capital products are structured to deliver ‘superior risk balanced investment returns’ in various market conditions and are ‘benchmarked against competitors to ensure optimal performance’.

Stringent risk management: the firm adheres to a rigorous risk management framework which ensures ‘accountability to both regulators and investors via monitoring and reacting to market volatility, credit and operational risks’.

Shariah compliance: Al Rajhi Capital business is governed by principles of Islamic shariah policies and procedures.

Al Rayan Investment (ARI) is a leading investment management firm that specialises in Gulf-listed equities and sukuk, backed by a unified research team.

The firm’s investment approach is focused on identifying and taking advantage of the significant valuation and information discrepancies that exist in the Gulf region. All ARI’s investments are in compliance with Islamic laws, allowing investors to gain a broader perspective from researching and investing on both sides of the capital structure.

ARI manages the Al Rayan GCC Fund, which is the second-largest Shariah-compliant GCC Fund in the region, with assets under management of $96 million. The fund has achieved a 14.5% return over the past 12 months with relatively low risk, as reflected in a high Sharpe ratio of 0.77. Since its inception, the fund has returned 153%.

In March 2018, ARI listed the Al Rayan Qatar ETF (ticker QATR) on the Qatar Stock Exchange. As of the end of August 2022, QATR is the second-largest Islamic equity ETF in the world, with a market capitalisation of $175 million. In addition, ARI manages several segregated mandates, totalling $1.2 billion, for institutional investors and family offices.

The company has developed in-house research capabilities to identify broad trends and identify individual opportunities. The use of primary research is at the core of ARI’s decision-making process. With the listing of Al Rayan Qatar ETF, ARI has established itself as the leading ETF issuer in the Gulf, with an ETF that is half as large as all other ETFs in the region combined. Listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange, QATR tracks the QE Al Rayan Islamic index, which includes Shariahcompliant stocks in Qatar. Over the past 12 months, the NAV tracking error has been just 0.07%. As of the end of August 2022, QATR is the world’s fifth-largest Islamic equity ETF. It has two peers that also offer exposure to Qatari equities, but QATR is the largest and most costeffective of the three.