Investments

Middle East fund managers tipped to double AUM by 2020, says report

Fund managers in the GCC are expected to more than double their AUM from USD45.8 billion in 2016 to USD110.9 billion in 2020.

This is according to the ‘DIFC Wealth & Asset Management Report 2017: Middle East, Africa, and South Asia region (MEASA)’, produced in partnership with Thomson Reuters.

It shows that at the end of 2016, total AUM by fund managers in MEASA’s key financial centres of India, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and the GCC countries was USD436.5 billion. By 2020, the report projects total AUM to reach USD678.9 billion. 

Dubai is expected to reinforce its status as the region’s leading financial hub with new legislation and regulation expected to attract inward investment. Fund managers in the UAE are expected to see their AUM grow from USD1.6 billion in 2016 to USD18.9 billion in 2020.

“DIFC has identified the wealth and asset management industry as having huge potential for growth over the next five years, which is why we are making a number of enhancements to our platform,” said Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC Authority. “From the DFSA’s recently updated Collective Fund Regime to potential legislative changes on the horizon, we believe Dubai and DIFC can play a central role in attracting assets to the region and preparing it for the future of the financial services industry.”  

The region is particularly attractive for fund managers in the alternative investments sector. In contrast to the perception that investors from the Middle East are heavily concentrated in real estate, these make up just under 20% of assets of HNWIs, among the lowest of any region except Japan and North America. Alternative investments, by comparison, account for more than 15% of total assets – the highest share globally.