2021 Oct 14
Abu Dhabi, 13 October 2021 – The Waha MENA Equity Fund, flagship fund of Waha Capital PJSC (ADX: WAHA), a leading investment management company based in Abu Dhabi, has been recognised as one of the world’s top 50 hedge funds. Our flagship Equity Fund is the only hedge fund based in the MENA region to feature in the ranking.
Since its inception in 2014, the Waha MENA Equity Fund has yielded a cumulative return of 207.3% (as of 30 September 2021), equivalent to an annualised rate of return of 15.6%. In 2020, the Fund returned 14.1% against the benchmark S&P Pan Arab Composite Index which returned 1.2%. The Fund invests primarily in nine countries, from Morocco through to Oman; and has benefitted from the opening up of GCC markets to foreign investors in recent years. The Fund’s consistent performance is underpinned by Waha Capital’s strong research capabilities, that combine top-down macroeconomic views with bottom-up company analyses in constructing and managing the portfolio.
This year’s survey, published under the banner Global Investment Report, is the 18th annual global hedge fund edition to be independently conducted by veteran New York-based financial analyst, Eric Fuhlfelder. The 50 funds that comprised the survey are considered top performers, with a mean age of 14.5 years, nearly triple the life expectancy of the typical fund. In terms of ranking methodology, the assessment requires fund managers to exceed a minimum hurdle rate over the past 3 years and identifies the best trailing 5-year returns to highlight managers who are able to consistently generate absolute returns while containing their downside risk. This approach eliminates funds with performance that is inconsistent from one year to the next, despite yielding attractive average trailing returns; and therefore, prioritises superior long-term strategies over short-term opportunism.
Ahmed Khalifa Al Mehairi, CEO of Waha Capital said: “We are honoured to have been recognised as one of the top 50 hedge fund managers in the world. Our priority at Waha Capital is to curate diversified and balanced portfolios that create sustainable income and long-term value for our shareholders and investors. Our investment strategy has been successful over the past eight years and to be recognised for this brings me great pride, especially in our team. This is a testament to our growing commitment in being the leading investment management company in the UAE and the wider region.”
Mohamed El Jamal, CIO of Waha Capital’s Public Markets Business and Lead Portfolio Manager of the Waha MENA Equity Fund, said: “Our Waha MENA Equity Fund was established in 2014 with an equity long-bias and is the only fund in the list based in the MENA region. We have strategically spent the last decade investing to build our Waha Emerging Markets asset management platform out of Abu Dhabi. Our MENA Equity Fund has been recognised as one of the top 50 hedge funds globally, on a five-year track record basis. This is a significant milestone in our journey, one we wish to share with our investors, stakeholders and broader UAE community.”
Earlier in the year, Waha Capital’s Public Markets Business achieved a significant milestone; crossing the US$1 billion threshold in assets under management (AUM). Established in 1997, Waha Capital also manages two other funds - the Waha CEEMEA Credit Fund and the Waha Islamic Income Fund, the latter of which invests in Shariah-compliant assets across sukuk and equity markets.
The 2021 Survey of The Top 50 Hedge Funds is an independent survey. The 17 previous editions were commissioned by The Financial Times, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and last year by SALT. Other hedge funds recognised in the survey were Tiger Global Investments (New York), Element Capital (New York), Citadel Wellington (Chicago) and D.E. Shaw Composite (New York).
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