Neuberger launches MENA equities UCITS fund from Dubai team
What's the deal? Neuberger BermanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has launched Neuberger MENA Equity, a UCITS fund investing in Middle Eastern and North African equities. It is managed by the firm's Dubai-based MENA equities team and holds between 25 and 40 stocks at any one time.
How it works: The team selects stocks it deems to offer "quality at a reasonable price," distilling the portfolio from an initial basket of 1,240 stocks.
Why now? The launch follows Neuberger's view that the MENA region is becoming increasingly attractive as it diversifies away from oil revenues and hydrocarbons and into sectors such as tourism, technology, healthcare, and financial services.
What's the endgame? The firm has built local capabilities, assembling an on-the-ground investment team and strengthening client coverage across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Matt Malloy, head of EMEA and head of global institutional client group, called the fund "a natural expression of its deepening commitment to this region and its investors."
The signal: Walid Mourad, head of MENA equities, said the region "sits at an inflection point." He pointed to "transformational reform programmes, expanding capital markets, and a deepening IPO pipeline" creating opportunities that "simply did not exist a decade ago."
Read more: Portfolio Adviser
