Emerging Markets Continue to Offer a Wealth of Attractive Opportunities Say Leading Asset Managers

Emirates NBD Asset Management, Jupiter Asset Management and UTI International today jointly hosted an investment symposium at the Atrium in DIFC, covering a range of Emerging Market (EM) investment themes. The panel discussions, under the theme of "Emerging Markets: Fighting Fit", included trends and projections for the wealth management industry and were attended by leading investment analysts and financial advisors.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/656396/Emirates_NBD_Jupiter_UTI.jpg )

Suvo Sarkar, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Emirates NBD Group said: "This morning we brought two of our global partners, who have outstanding Emerging Market and multi-asset track records, to the region, enabling our clients and regional investors to gain a comprehensive view on the investment landscape. Emirates NBD Asset Management has continually expanded its EM fund range, debt and equities, and firmly believes that now is the right time for investors in the GCC to increase their exposure to Emerging Markets. The positive outlook for EM assets, based on attractive valuations and strong fundamentals, makes it an asset class impossible to ignore for any global investor. Around 60% of the global GDP comes from EM economies and they are the engine for global growth, with the differential in projected 2018 growth rates between EM and developed markets expected to be around 3%."

The exchange of ideas and sharing of expertise by senior figures and fund managers from the three leading asset managers included panels covering distribution, views from CEOs and opinions from specialised portfolio managers. Regional thought leadership from Emirates NBD Asset Management was complemented by international insights from Jupiter Asset Management and UTI International, in lively discussions overseen by moderators.

Maarten Slendebroek, Chief Executive Officer of Jupiter Asset Management commented: "Jupiter has an established pedigree in Emerging Market investing, and a long history of allocating to third party Emerging Market managers through our successful multi-asset solutions.  We have had a strong presence in the region since 2013, when we were sub-delegated to manage four funds for Emirates NBD Asset Management. Additionally, we have established several regional collaborations and continue to broaden our distribution presence in the Middle East. This local exposure enables us to explore new opportunities for more diverse investment allocation, and new inflows to our funds."

Emirates NBD Asset Management has achieved considerable success across its EM funds, with increased interest from Shari'a-compliant investors looking to access Emerging Markets. The Emirates India Equity Fund, co-managed with UTI International was launched in November 2016 and has garnered assets of $70m, having delivered 33% return to investors in 2017. The Emirates Emerging Market Corporate Bond Absolute Return Fund, which was recently awarded 4 stars by Morningstar, almost doubled in size over

12 months to reach USD 66.2 million having generated a return of 7.6% in 2017. The Emerging Market Equity Fund, which is co-managed with Jupiter Asset Management, has delivered 12-month performance of 17.92%, while the range of multi-asset Funds, also co-managed with Jupiter, are all in the top quartile both YTD and over the past year.

Leo Puri, Managing Director of UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd. said: "India remains the fastest-growing of the world's large economies, demonstrating a high level of macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline. These characteristics were key contributors to its recent sovereign ratings upgrade by Moody's - the first in fourteen years - a clear validation of the positive impact of economic reform and prompting increased global demand for Indian assets. Given its strong demographics, continued economic growth, constructive structural reforms and stable political outlook, Indian equities are becoming an increasingly attractive asset class amongst most global asset allocators. We continue to expand our franchise overseas through our Singapore-based entity, UTI International. Our collaboration with Emirates NBD Asset Management in managing their Shari'a compliant Indian Equity Fund is the central pillar that we seek to build further products around for the region."

The event's panels concluded that EM investment strategies continue to perform well, presenting a range of attractive new opportunities in established markets such as India, as well as potentially new markets like Saudi Arabia (KSA). An EM status upgrade by FTSE Russell is widely expected for KSA later this month, followed by an additional upgrade for KSA by MSCI in June. Panellists also agreed that EM fixed income allocation remains attractive, with the volume of debt issued by regions such as the GCC set to continue on its growth trajectory while offering attractive spreads.

About UTI International (Singapore) Private Ltd 

UTI International Singapore Private Ltd is the flagship company representing the offshore interests of UTI AMC. It helps global investors invest in India. Current investors include private banks, family offices, Insurance companies, pension funds and other financial institutions.

UTI Asset Management Company (UTI AMC), the parent entity, is the leading manager of Indian Equities, Fixed Income and Private Equity, with a robust investment process that has withstood the test of time. As a group, UTI has an AUM of USD 54 billion and manages money for more than 10 million clients.

With Singapore as our primary place of business, UTI International aims to help global investors in accessing Indian equities, fixed income and private equity opportunities. These opportunities can be availed in multiple ways via Mutual Funds, Managed Accounts, Sub-Advisory and White Labelling arrangements. We also provide investors access to our domestic funds in India, through Master-Feeder arrangement. While the Research & Analysis is mostly

conducted at our head office in Mumbai, we have an Investment Management team as well as a product structuring unit in Singapore.

UTI started with humble beginnings. Created in 1964 by an Act of the Indian Parliament, UTI (or Unit Trust of India as it was known earlier) has a rich history of helping many generations of Indians plan their financial futures. By spawning Banks, Stock Exchanges and Depositories, it has also been instrumental in the development of the country's Capital Market infrastructure.

About Jupiter Asset Management 

Founded in London in 1985, Jupiter Asset Management is an established active asset manager with an increasing presence across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As we have grown, our strong culture has been essential in keeping our entrepreneurial, talent-driven spirit. We believe in active fund management, working together to share investment ideas, yet ensuring our fund managers take individual responsibility for their own portfolios. Jupiter offers a broad range of actively managed strategies including equities, fixed income, multi-asset and absolute return.

Jupiter has 513 employees (of which 62 are investment professionals) and assets under management of $67.8bn as of 31/12/2017. Jupiter Fund Management has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since June 2010.

About Emirates NBD 

Emirates NBD is a leading banking Group in the region. As at 31^st December 2017, total assets were AED 470.4 Billion, (equivalent to approx. USD 128 Billion). The Group has a significant retail banking franchise in the UAE and is a key participant in the global digital banking industry, with over 90 per cent of all financial transactions and requests conducted outside of its branches. The bank currently has 230 branches and 1040 ATMs and SDMs in the UAE and overseas and a large social media following, being the only bank in the Middle East ranked among the top 20 in the 'Power 100 Social Media Rankings', compiled by The Financial Brand. It is a major player in the UAE corporate and retail banking arena and has strong Islamic Banking, Global Markets & Treasury, Investment Banking, Private Banking, Asset Management and Brokerage operations.

The Group has operations in the UAE, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and representative offices in China and Indonesia.

The Group is an active participant and supporter of the UAE's main development and community initiatives, in close alignment with the UAE government's strategies, including financial literacy and advocacy for inclusion of People with Disabilities under its #TogetherLimitless platform.

For more information, please visit: http://www.emiratesnbd.com

About Emirates NBD Asset Management 

Emirates NBD Asset Management Limited (Emirates NBD Asset Management), established in the Dubai International Financial Centre and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority as a Category II Firm, is the wholly owned asset management business of Emirates NBD Bank, one of the largest banks by assets in the MENA region. Emirates NBD Asset Management provides a wide range of investment solutions, from in-house managed public funds to tailor-made discretionary solutions. It manages funds across a variety of asset classes, including MENA equity and global fixed income, global risk profiled solutions, UAE real estate, and a wide range of Shari'a compliant instruments, structured to cater for diverse risk appetites.

Each of the Emirates NBD Asset Management managed funds are currently domiciled in either Jersey (regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission) or Luxembourg (regulated by the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier). As at 31^st January 2018, Emirates NBD Asset Management had assets under management of approximately USD 4.2 billion.

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Andrew Berridge
Instinctif Partners
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