Gulf Arab Region to Boost Hedge Fund Assets, Investcorp Says

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Persian Gulf Arab institutions are likely to boost hedge fund investments this year as they seek to diversify assets and stabilize returns, according to Investcorp Bank BSC of Bahrain, which manages $12 billion.

The Gulf usually follow trends in the U.S., where investors helped push global hedge fund assets to $1.6 trillion last year from $1.3 trillion in 2008, Khalid al-Rumaihi, Investcorp’s managing director for placement, said at a conference today in Dubai. Investcorp manages $4.5 billion in funds of hedge funds after adding $1.3 billion of assets last year, all from U.S. financial firms, he said.

“You will have more investments from the Gulf this year,” al-Rumaihi said. “We would expect a very good year” as global markets are likely to remain volatile, he said.