The eighth annual Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference gets under way in the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai today as the industry celebrates strong growth in the region and looks to the future.
The hedge fund industry has enjoyed significant success in the Middle East in recent years, buoyed by a huge influx of new capital and the rapid evolution of the region’s financial services infrastructure.
Soaring energy prices, development and progressive initiatives to attract direct foreign investment have created unprecedented wealth in the region. At the same time, new regulation and the emergence of institutions such as the Dubai International Financial Centre is persuading a growing number of international firms to develop a regional presence.
As a result, the hedge fund industry is expanding quickly and continues to attract significant investment from private clients and institutional investors. That rapid growth has presented new opportunities and new challenges.
His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, Governor, DIFC said “The outlook for hedge funds and other alternative investment classes in the region is expanding. At the DIFC we have put in place both the infrastructure and the regulatory framework – through legislation such as the recently approved Collective Investment Law – to foster the growth of hedge funds in the region. Today, the DIFC offers a full suite of services for the industry, including domiciling, custody, assert management, prime brokerage and distribution. Working with the industry, we are helping to grow Dubai into a new hedge fund centre for the region.”
Antoine Massad, Chief Executive of Man Investments Middle East Ltd, explains, “As the industry grows it will need to source new investment capacity and develop fresh sources of excess returns. Hedge funds also face growing competition from other asset classes in the region, while our growing institutional client base is demanding higher levels of service.”
“The likely outcome is industry consolidation, with a few dominant players capturing the bulk of the market. Innovation and the capital strength to invest in new managers and product development will be key success factors, as will client service, structuring capabilities and the breadth of firms’ product platform,” he added.
It is expected that more than 600 attendants will gather at the hedge fund event, the largest of its kind in the region, to listen to over 50 industry leaders discuss these and other issues affecting the future growth of the asset class.
Among the highlights of the conference will be keynote addresses from His Excellency Dr. Omar Bin Sulamain, Govenor of Dubai International Financial Centre, and Peter Clarke, the future CEO of Man Group plc.
Peter Clark’s presentation will focus on the challenges the hedge fund industry is facing going forward and how to solve them. He will deal with critically important issues like capacity, performance, liquidity, innovation, regulation and ownership structures, which will need to be addressed if the hedge fund industry is to continue its phenomenal upward trajectory.
