Algebra Capital today announced that it has been appointed to sub-advise the newly launched Franklin Middle East and North Africa Fund, which is managed by Franklin Advisers, Inc. The Fund is available to Japanese investors through a fund-of-funds, locally known as “Arabian Blue” and managed by Tokyo-based Shinko Investment Trust Management. Dubai-based asset manager Algebra Capital, one of the largest and most experienced investment managers in the MENA region, serves as a subadvisor to Franklin Advisers, Inc.
Ziad Makkawi, Founding Shareholder and Chief Executive Officer of Algebra Capital, said “We’re very pleased to work with Franklin Templeton and Shinko Investment Trust Management to launch this new fund, bringing the benefits of investment in the MENA region to Japanese investors.”
Joe Kawkabani, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Equity Asset Management for Algebra Capital, said, “The MENA region continues to offer some of the best returns in Emerging Markets and is firmly on the radar screen of investors globally as it provides the potential for long-term growth, and low correlations with other markets. Algebra’s extensive research expertise allows us to uncover attractive opportunities for investors across the capitalization spectrum in this important region.”
Stock markets in the MENA region have been opening up and introducing better systems and processes, resulting in increasing interest, from both local and global investors. The Franklin Middle East and North Africa Fund marks the second fund that Algebra Capital will sub-advise for Franklin Templeton—the first being the Franklin Korea MENA Fund launched for Korean Investors in April 2008.
MENA is the eighth-largest economic region in the world, posting above 5% real GDP growth on average over the past 3 years according to the International Monetary Fund. These growth rates are expected to continue over the next 3 years as government spending, low interest rates, and strong oil prices continue to fuel the economies in the region. As public markets have grown, so has the variety of sectors represented. Market capitalization has increased by more than five-fold over the past five years and continues to grow. Valuations tend to be attractive due to strong corporate earnings.
About Algebra Capital
Algebra Capital operates out of the DIFC and is regulated as a financial services provider by the DFSA. A leading emerging markets asset management firm specializing in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region, Algebra Capital manages assets in private and public markets across all asset classes. Services are packaged as fund solutions, discretionary mandates or structured products. Clients are a mix of institutional investors and high net worth individuals. Particular attention and resources will be dedicated to attracting international capital flows to our target markets, the MENA and emerging Asia regions (MENASIA). In August 2007, Algebra Capital entered a strategic joint venture with Franklin Templeton Investments.
About Franklin Templeton
Franklin Advisers, Inc. is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over US$591 billion in assets as of 31 March 2008. For more information, please visit www.franklintempletongem.com.
About Shinko Investment Trust Management
Shinko Investment Trust Management, is dedicated to the asset management business, having served retail investors since 1961.The Company’s investment philosophy is to provide high-quality asset management services to meet investors’ needs with high standard of transparency and ethics. Shinko Investment Trust Management is a subsidiary of Shinko Securities, which is one of the leading securities firms in Japan and a distributor of “Arabian Blue”.
Note: This text is purely for the information of the press and does not constitute an offer to buy or sell any securities or provide any investment service.
