By IANS,
Dubai : The Hedge Funds industry, reeling under the weight of the global financial turmoil, is looking eastwards both for investing and for getting allocations, WAM reported Wednesday quoting a recent survey.
According to the survey conducted by Terrapinn, organiser of Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference, more than half of the international investors are looking to the Middle East based hedge funds for possible investment.
Even with the oil price well below previous peaks, the global transfer of wealth from western countries to the East continues to have a significant impact on the funds controlled by Middle East investors, the survey says.
Local investors already hold well over $1 trillion in overseas assets, and many are now actively diversifying into alternative investments.
“The Gulf Cooperation Council equity markets now appear on the radar screen of every large global investor, and many of the international investors flocking to Dubai for Hedge Funds World Middle East are also looking at local fund managers to help them take advantage of lower prices and build up their fledgling Middle East exposure,” Terrapinn chief Symon Rubens said.
“We have seen global hedge fund managers starting to flock to the region. Recently two major players listed on Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX,)” said Rubens, adding that an overwhelming majority of the respondents believed Dubai to be the hub of the Middle East hedge fund industry.
The survey was conducted among 820 institutional investors and fund managers from around the world and the Middle East.
The Conference, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the Arab region next year, is the largest investment conglomerate in the Middle East.