Hedge fund boost for Bahrain
Demand for asset management professionals in Bahrain looks set to rise following changes to its collective investment scheme regulatory framework.
The changes will allow a wider range of assets to be included in funds and are expected to see the emergence of a Bahrain-based industry for hedge funds and other alternative investments, according to Bahrain Financial Services Development.
Bahrain already has 102 locally-domiciled funds and more than 2,600 registered with the regulator, making it by far the largest funds market in the Middle East.
Barbara Van Meir, director of financial services at executive search firm WoodHamill Ingram, says there is high demand for senior executives from asset management companies in the Gulf region. "We are retained by clients in this region who are looking to hire senior executives in alternative investments from the more mature markets of the West," she states.
The compensation packages are driven by demand and are very competitive, Van Meir adds.
Total Middle East institutional investment in hedge funds is expected to reach US$101bn, or about 14% of the global total by 2010, according to the Gulf Daily News.
"Hedge funds have also enjoyed notable success in the Middle East with the HFR Emerging Markets Index [which covers the Middle East, Asia and Latin America] rising by 19.5% in 2006 and by an average of 16.4% since the index was constituted in 1990," says hedge fund information and performance data provider Hedge Fund Research.
