Cairo 15 Apr 2024:
Over the past few decades, the region has witnessed a remarkable transformation in its investment ecosystem, driven by a combination of factors, including economic diversification efforts, technological advancements, and shifting investor preferences.
Asset managers are emerging as key players in the region’s investment ecosystem. Companies run by these asset managers offer investors an avenue to diversify their portfolios, access professional management expertise, and participate in the region’s economic growth story. The region’s stock financial markets have been booming. In MENA, five listings, mainly in the energy and logistics sectors, contributed 58% of the total IPO proceeds raised in 2023, according to EY.
For this year’s list, we highlight 30 asset managers who manage assets on a fiduciary basis. The list includes leaders of both independent asset management firms as well as the investment arms of financial institutions. 16 of the top asset managers on this year’s list are from subsidiaries of banks, and 14 of them head independent asset management firms.
During Q4 2023, 19 IPOs raised $4.9 billion in proceeds. The ADES Holding Company raised the most funds and contributed 25% of the overall IPO proceeds in Q4, followed by PureHealth Holding with 20%. Most of the listing activity took place in the GCC.
Asset managers also played a vital role in debt and sukuk issues, whether to companies or governments. SNB Capital was a joint lead manager of the debt issuance of Saudi’s Ministry of Finance in 2023. Al Rajhi Capital also acted as the sole local bank and joint arranger for the $3.5 billion PIF Sukuk issuance last year.
Asset managers from Saudi Arabia, which is home to the region’s biggest stock exchange, dominate the list, with 14 of the 30 entries on the list being based in the kingdom, followed by Kuwait with five entries and the U.A.E. with four.
The 30 asset managers featured on this list managed over $340 billion in assets in 2023, including local and international equity and debt funds, discretionary portfolios, real estate investments, REITS, and private equity.
1. Rashed Sharif
Sharif has 25 years of industry experience and was appointed to his current role in 2021. SNB Capital provides Shariah-compliant financial and consultancy solutions to institutional and retail investors across asset management, wealth management, investment banking, and securities, among others. As of December 2023, it had $65.6 billion in assets under management, a 6.8% increase compared to 2022. SNB Capital was a joint lead manager of the debt issuance of Saudi’s Ministry of Finance, issuing $31.5 billion between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024. Sharif became chairman of the CMA Capital Market Institutions Committee and a member of the CMA Advisory Committee in 2023. He also serves as a board member and has been appointed to committees in several companies, including Saudi National Bank (SNB), Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Avilease and Tonomus (NEOM) and was previously the head of local holding investments in Saudi’s Public Investment Fund from 2017 to 2020.
2. Mohammed Alardhi
Investcorp specializes in global alternative investments across private equity, real estate, credit, GP stakes, infrastructure, strategic capital, and insurance asset management. It managed over $52.2 billion in assets, including those managed by third parties as of December 2023. Investcorp has 14 offices in the U.S., Europe, GCC, and Asia and employs 500 people. In March 2024, Investcorp led a $130 million pre-IPO investment round in the SaaS e-commerce enablement platform Salla. Alardhi became executive chairman in 2015. He is also the chairman of the Muscat Stock Exchange and a board member of the international advisory board of The Brookings Institution, the board of trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships, and the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chairpersons.
3. Mazin Fawaz Baghdadi
Baghdadi has 23 years of experience in the investment banking industry and has been at the helm of Alinma Bank’s investment arm since 2019. In 2023, the company recorded an annual growth of 13.9% in its assets under management to hit $22.3 billion. It also launched the Alinma Al-Khobar Real Estate Fund. In 2023, Alinma Investment launched the $293 million Alinma Logistic Land Fund in cooperation with Rikaz and Alrosan Company. Baghdadi is a board member of Jabal Omar Development Company. Before joining Alinma Investment in 2016, he was the chief investment officer for HSBC Saudi Arabia.
4. Abdullah Abdulrahman Alshwer
Riyad Capital recorded assets under management of $24.8 billion in 2023, with an annual growth of 17%. It signed deals between 2023 and March 2024 worth approximately $1.3 billion. Riyad Capital is a subsidiary of Riyad Bank, regulated by the Saudi Capital Market Authority. Before Alshwer joined Riyad Capital in 2023, he was the CEO and CIO of Ashmore Investment Saudi Arabia for nearly six years. He also was the CEO and secretary general of the Higher Education Fund, the investment arm for 26 public Saudi universities, and worked at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education as a senior advisor.
5. Hisham Alrayes
Alrayes has 26 years of industry experience and has been GFH’s group CEO since 2007. GFH is listed on four stock exchanges in the GCC: the Bahrain Bourse, Boursa Kuwait, Dubai Financial Market, and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. It employs over 145 people and invests in MENA, India, Europe, and the U.S. The group’s total assets and funds under management increased from $17 billion in 2022 to $21 billion in 2023. In October 2023, the group acquired a food services and logistics company valued at $133.3 million in Saudi Arabia. Alrayes is also the chairman of Esterad Investment Company and Khaleeji Commercial Bank.
6. Waleed AlRashed AlHumaid
AlHumaid has more than 20 years of experience. Before assuming his current role in 2020, he was the general manager of asset management at HSBC Saudi Arabia. Al Rajhi Capital is a fully-owned subsidiary of alrajhi bank and offers Shariah-compliant financial products and services, including asset management, brokerage, and investment banking services. It had $20.2 billion in assets under management as of December 2023, a 46% growth compared to 2022. The company has more than 24 public investment funds. In 2023, Al Rajhi Capital acted as the sole local bank and joint arranger for the $3.5 billion PIF Sukuk issuance. AlHumaid started his career as a financial analyst at Aramco. He previously worked at Jadwa Investment and SNB Capital, and he is a board member of the Gulf Investment Corporation.
7. Faisal Mansour Sarkhou
Kamco Invest is an independently managed subsidiary of the KIPCO Group. It provides services in asset management, wealth management, and investment banking. Its assets under management reached $14.9 billion as of December 2023, and it registered $58.8 million in revenues in 2023. In October 2023, Kamco Invest expanded its operations and opened a new office in London. Sarkhou joined Kamco Invest in 2000 and was appointed as CEO in 2014. He is also a board member of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority.
8. Tariq Al-Sudairy
Jadwa Investment is among Saudi Arabia’s largest private equity investors and the largest manager of listed REITs. As of 2023, it had $16.7 billion under management, $4.4 billion under advisement, and $5 billion in cumulative real estate investments. The company’s clients include government entities, local and international institutional investors, leading family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Al-Sudairy is on the board of The Financial Academy and AlRajhi United. Before joining Jadwa Investment in 2011, Al-Sudairy held roles at Amwal AlKhaleej, McKinsey & Company, and Compass Lexecon.
9. Karim Awad
Awad has been in his current role since 2013, having joined EFG Holding in 1998. EFG Hermes is part of EFG Holding and offers a broad spectrum of financial services, including advisory, asset management, securities brokerage, research, and private equity. The company recorded $5.2 billion in assets under management in 2023, an annual growth of over 17.3%. In March 2023, EFG Hermes completed advisory on the $2.5 billion IPO for ADNOC Gas on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The company acted as a joint bookrunner on the transaction. In October 2023, the company also advised on the $1.2 billion IPO of the ADES Holding Company on the Saudi Exchange. Awad is also the chairman of the EFG Holding’s executive committee.
10. Reda Hilali
Hilali has more than 21 years of industry experience. He joined Wafa Gestion in 2007 and assumed his current role in April 2016. Wafa Gestion, a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank, began operations in 1995. It manages mutual funds exclusively, as well as assets in Morocco for third-party clients. The company’s total assets under management were worth $13.98 billion in 2023, an increase of 11.8% compared to 2022, with a market share of 24.3% in Morocco. Hilali heads a team of 52 people and serves as president of the Moroccan asset management association ASFIM.
11. Khaled Abdulaziz Alrayes
Alrayes joined ICAP in April 2018 and has 22 years of experience in the investment and finance industry. ICAP had $8.5 billion in assets under management as of 2024. In March 2023, it signed an agreement with Safa Investment Company to launch real estate investment funds with a target size of $293.3 million. Before joining ICAP, Alrayes was the CIO of the Aseer Investment Company. He was also a director at the investment banking vertical of Al Rajhi Capital and worked in the investment banking division of Alistithmar Capital.
12. Ali Almansour
Almansour has 21 years of industry experience and became managing director and CEO of SAB Invest in 2021. The company is Saudi Awwal Bank’s investment arm, an HSBC Group affiliate. SAB Invest provides investment management, advisory solutions, and structuring services that are both conventional and Shariah-compliant in Saudi Arabia and internationally. The company managed assets worth $7.3 billion as of December 2023, a 73% growth compared to 2022. Almansour also sits on the board and investment committees of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, Al Rajhi Takaful, and Awqaf Investment Company.
13. Abdulaziz AlMarzooq
AlMarzooq has been the CEO of the KFH Capital Investment Company for the last 18 years and has more than two decades of industry experience. KFH Capital Investment Company is a subsidiary of the Kuwait Finance House and provides Shariah-compliant financial advisory and asset management solutions. The company recorded $7 billion in assets under management in 2023. Between 2023 and March 2024, the company completed deals worth $11.8 billion.
14. Salam AlKhunaizi
Aside from his current role at Saudi Fransi Capital, the investment wing of Banque Saudi Fransi, AlKhunaizi is also a member of the CMA’s Capital Market Institutions Committee, as well as its executive and compliance committees. The company recorded total assets under management of $6.4 billion in December 2023 and secured deals worth nearly $4.4 billion between 2023 and March 2024. In April 2023, Saudi Fransi Capital was the joint lead manager for the $2 billion green and conventional sukuk issuance of Saudi Electricity Company. It was also the mandated joint lead manager and bookrunner for the $900 million sukuk issuance of Banque Saudi Fransi in May 2023.
15. Samer Abu Aker
SEDCO Capital recorded assets under management of $6.3 billion in 2023, an annual growth of 10% compared to 2022. Abu Aker is also the chair of the company’s investment and management committees, as well as chairman of SEDCO Capital Global Funds. In December 2023, the SEDCO Capital Inspire Boulevard Fund announced its closing with a targeted size of nearly $150 million and a total subscription of $66.7 million through the Aseel Crowd Investing Platform. In addition, the SEDCO Capital REIT Fund acquired the La Vie Atelier Complex in Jeddah in 2023.
16. Najla Al Shirawi
Al Shirawi has 27 years of investment banking experience. She joined SICO in 1997 and assumed her current role in 2014. In 2023, SICO recorded assets under management of $6 billion, a 25% increase compared to 2022. In June 2023, SICO advised the Al Jazeera Tourism Company on its sale of Bahrain’s Novotel Al Dana Resort to the Gulf Hotels Group. In October 2023, SICO launched the Elzaad Sukuk Fund in partnership with the Wafra International Investment Company. Al Shirawi is also a board member of the Bahrain Economic Development Board and the Bahrain Commercial Facilities Company. She is also chairperson for the SICO Funds Services Company and SICO Financial Brokerage in Abu Dhabi.
17. Khalid S. Al-Ghamdi
Al-Ghamdi has more than 25 years of industry experience and joined anb capital in 2021. The company offers brokerage, investment management, investment advisory, investment banking, real estate, and private equity services. In March 2024, it was the joint lead manager and joint bookrunner for the Cenomi Centers’ $500 million sukuk issuance. anb capital’s total assets under management grew by 8.7% to hit $4.8 billion in February 2024. Its asset management department increased the number of funds it offers from eight in December 2020 to 12 in March 2024. Al-Ghamdi has also participated in several committees set up by the CMA and the Saudi Stock Exchange.
18. Michail Samawi
Samawi has 18 years of industry experience and was appointed to his current role in November 2023. Emirates NBD Asset Management is a fully-owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD and manages funds across various asset classes, including equity and global fixed income, global risk-profiled solutions, U.A.E. real estate, high-yield money market products, and Shariah-compliant instruments. The company had $6.5 billion in assets under management in 2023, an increase of 8.64% compared to 2022. Samawi was previously the managing director and Saudi market leader for BNP Paribas Wealth Management and a member of the BNP DIFC executive committee. He previously worked at Jordan-based Housing Bank for 12 years.
19. Naif Almesned
Almesned has 19 years of industry experience and has been in his current role since 2021. AJC began operations in 2008 and has launched various local and international funds such as REITS, equity funds, fixed-income funds, and money market funds. The value of the total assets the company manages was $4.5 billion as of December 2023, a 56% increase compared to 2022. In 2023, AJC acted as the financial advisor, lead manager, bookrunner, and underwriter on the IPO of Almawarid Manpower Company on the Saudi Exchange. Before his role at AJC, Almesned was the managing director of the wealth management division at NCB Capital.
20. Fahad Abdulrahman Al Mukhaizim
NIC started with a focus on investments in real estate and private ownership and expanded to fund management, investment portfolios, treasury services, and corporate financing services. By December 2023, it had $4 billion in assets under management. It employs about 125 people. Al Mukhaizim joined NIC in 2001 and assumed his role as a board member and CEO in 2022. He is also chairman of Kuwait Clearing, Arkan Al-Kuwait Real Estate Company, and Shorouq Pack, as well as vice chairman at Al Safat Investment, OSOS Holding Group, and Kuwait Emirates Holding Company, among others.
21. Zaid Almufarih
Almufarih has over 20 years of experience in financial markets and has been at the helm of Albilad Capital since 2018. The company is the investment arm of Bank Albilad and had assets under management worth $4.3 billion as of Q3 2023. In January 2024, Albilad Capital announced the listing and trading of its new fund, Albilad MSCI Saudi Growth ETF. Almufarih is also a board member of the audit committee for Saudi’s Tadawul exchange and a member of the investment and funding committee at the Central Jeddah Development Company.
22. Ali H. Khalil
Khalil joined Markaz in 1989 as president of Mar-Gulf Management, a subsidiary based in Los Angeles, and held senior management positions across its group of companies, including COO, before being appointed CEO in 2020. In 2023, Markaz reported total assets under management of $3.94 billion. It also recorded revenues of $85.5 million in 2023, a 40% increase compared to 2022 due to an increase in the sale of international and GCC real estate investments. In October 2023, Markaz extended its partnership with Gulf Bank, which serves as its selling agent for investment funds worldwide.
23. Hani Othman Baothman
Baothman is a founding shareholder of Sidra Capital. Before he was appointed chairman, he was the managing director and CEO. The company recorded total assets under management of $3.5 billion in 2023, a 2% growth compared to 2022. In November 2023, Sidra Capital launched its Singapore-based variable capital company, Sidra Asian Opportunities Investment | VCC. In the same month, it acquired Eurocap, Calais, an industrial and trade park in France. It also launched the Sadeen Livings Residential Development Fund in 2023.
24. Mohamed Hussain Al Nowais
Al Nowais joined Waha Capital as managing director in May 2023. Waha Capital is a private-sector investment house that invests in public and private markets and deploys proprietary capital in alignment with third-party investors. The Mubadala Investment Company is a major shareholder. Waha Capital recorded total assets under management of $2.9 billion in 2023, which is a 60% growth compared to 2022. Al Nowais is also the managing director of AMEA Power and an executive director at the AlNowais Investments Company. He is also a board member of the Al Dhafra Insurance Company and Abu Dhabi National Industrial Projects.
25. Ahmed Saud Ghouth
Alkhabeer Capital started as a small advisory service provider; today, it’s an investment management firm serving Saudi Arabia and MENA, sourcing Shariah-compliant products and solutions. It employs 118 people. As of December 2023, the company had over $2.15 billion in assets under management. Alkhabeer Capital’s active funds include the Alkhabeer Waqf Fund, Alkhabeer Diversified Income Traded Fund, and Alkhabeer REIT Fund. Ghouth has over 20 years of industry experience. He joined Alkhabeer Capital as deputy CEO in 2010 and became CEO in 2016. He is a member and chairman or director of the boards of 18 investment funds. He is also the deputy chairman of the AME Company for Medical Supplies.
26. Husayn Shahrur
Shahrur was appointed to his current position in 2021. ABK Capital is the investment arm of Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait. It provides asset management solutions and investment advisory services in the region. As of December 2023, the group had $2.3 billion of assets under management. Shahrur was previously the managing director at NBK Capital within the asset management group. He has multiple publications in international finance journals, with research in areas of capital structure, mergers and acquisitions, and investments.
27. Amr Abol-Enein
Abol-Enein has over 30 years of industry experience and joined CIAM in 2012. CIAM manages funds and mandates across asset classes, including fixed income, money market, and equity products, mainly for institutional clients, as well as portfolios for institutional clients. CIAM recorded $2 billion in assets under management in 2023, an annual growth of 28%. CIAM launched the Misr Equity fund in October 2022 as a means to track the EGX30 Capped Index and showcase its returns. Abol-Enein is also the CEO of CIAM’s investment committee and a member of the company’s management committee. He previously worked at Banque du Caire.
28. Mohammed Ismail Al Emadi
Al Emadi has 16 years of experience in the banking sector and was appointed to his current role in 2023. Lesha Bank offers high-net-worth individuals and corporates Shariah-compliant financial products and solutions covering alternative investments focused on real estate and private equity, private banking and wealth management, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury and investments. The company recorded $1.7 billion in assets under management in 2023. Before joining Lesha Bank, Al Emadi was the group chief business officer at Masraf Al Rayan. He is also the chairman of Oryx Corniche Developments.
29. Robert Hahm
Hahm has over 24 years of industry experience and has been at the helm of Mashreq Capital since 2017. The company recorded assets under management of $1.5 billion in 2023. It is the investment arm of Mashreq and offers both conventional and Shariah-compliant DFSA-regulated funds and discretionary accounts. The company manages six funds and some discretionary portfolios for distribution channels, institutional investors, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Hahm is also the chairman of the company’s investment committee and a board member of The Gulf Capital Market Association.
30. Gavin Rankin
