Abu Dhabi, UAE 17 December 2008: The National Investor (TNI), the UAE’s largest investment banking and investment management firm by market value, has signed a license agreement with MSCI Barra, a leading global benchmark authority, to create the MSCI Arabian Markets Real Estate Capped Index. The MSCI Arabian Markets Real Estate Capped Index, is a free float-adjusted, market capitalization index, and contains more than 60 leading real estate securities of the largest and most liquid companies from 11 Arab countries.
The index will be used as a benchmark for the existing TNI MENA Real Estate Active Fund (MENA REAF).
The Index will be calculated daily, and will include companies in the following sub-industries according to the Global Industrial Classification Standard:
The Index will be calculated in US$ and weights of companies in the Index will be capped at 10.0% to reflect MENA REAF investment guidelines.
Walid Hayeck, Director Asset Management at TNI commented: “The real estate sector plays a pivotal role in Arab economies and constitutes one of the major contributors to Arab non-oil GDPs. It is one of the first sectors to benefit from oil cash surpluses and government infrastructure spending. We like to think of it as a market proxy for regional growth and TNI MENA Real Estate Active Fund is an ideal tool for an exposure to this still promising growth story.”
Daniela Fleishcmann Noura Budeiri
Capital MS&L (Dubai) TNI
+971 4 367 6164 +971 (2) 619 2358
Daniela.fleischmann@capitalmsl.com nbudeiri@tni.ae
For more information, for a photo of Walid Hayeck, or to speak to someone from TNI, please call one of the below contacts.
About The National Investor: The National Investor (TNI) is a privately owned regional investment banking group. The firm comprises six strategic business divisions covering investment banking, private equity, asset management, real estate, investment research and principal investments. In addition, the firm has an associate company, GNSC, which provides brokerage services as a registered member of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
About The National Investor Asset Management: The activities of TNI’s Asset Management Division started with the establishment of the firm back in 1994. Investments were carried out with the balance sheet and collectively on behalf of select and exclusive clients. In 2005, the Board of Directors and the Executives of TNI took a strategic decision to diversify the earning streams of the firm. The primary path for the realization of this strategy was the creation of an asset management division. Today TNI Asset Management and the funds they manage are a top priority for the firm.
In early 2007 the division instigated a new paradigm. This strategic model is best described by the four ideological pillars to which the culture of the division is realigned. These are the Ethical standards, Client focus, Innovation and Superior performance. Through continuous client engagement, TNI aspires to achieve client satisfaction and meet its investors’ expectations. TNI’s funds’ performance and its asset managers’ dedication to achieving superior returns have not gone unnoticed, as TNI has been awarded many accolades from industry benchmarks.
In parallel, the asset management group has rapidly grown to become a main contributor to TNI’s bottom line.
Focus
The Fund is a sector focused fund mainly targeting investments in equities of real estate firms publicly traded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) official exchanges. The Fund provides investors with a liquid investment approach to a traditionally illiquid and capital intensive sector.
Management Style
The key investment criteria are the company’s financial strengths, competitiveness, profitability, growth prospects and quality of management. The allocation will be based on fundamental research and will incorporate a blend of top-down and a bottom-up analytical approach.
Objective
The fund aims to provide long-term capital appreciation through investing in equity securities of real estate firms publicly traded in the MENA equity markets. Fund investments can also include private equities of firms expected to list their shares within a 12-month period, as well as debt instruments issued by MENA real estate firms.
Suitability
Units of the Fund are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. The Fund is therefore designed for sophisticated investors who are able to understand the risks involved in emerging markets’ equity investments, particularly in the MENA equities.
About MSCI Barra: MSCI Barra is a leading provider of investment decision support tools to investment institutions worldwide. MSCI Barra products include indices and portfolio risk and performance analytics for use in managing equity, fixed income and multi-asset class portfolios.
The company’s flagship products are the MSCI International Equity Indices, which are estimated to have over USD 3 trillion benchmarked to them, and the Barra risk models and portfolio analytics, which cover 56 equity and 46 fixed income markets. MSCI Barra is headquartered in New York, with research and commercial offices around the world. Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm, is the controlling shareholder of MSCI Barra.
MSCI Barra was recently named Index Provider of the Year at the European Pensions Awards and Best Provider of Benchmark Indices in Asia Pacific at the Asian Investor Service Provider Awards.