Bahrain SWF considers first hedge fund investment

* username: rupertbu

Bahrain’s $14bn sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is considering making its first ever allocation into the hedge fund sector, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal.

The Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, which was established in June 2006, has confirmed that it is looking to invest into the asset class as early as next year. Hani Redha, an investment manager at the SWF, told HFMWeek, “yes, we are looking at potentially investing in hedge funds in the future. It won’t happen this year, but the following year is a possibility.”

Redha revealed that it would be the fund’s first allocation to the alternative space, citing desire for diversification as the driving force behind the SWF’s decision. It has not yet been confirmed what proportion of the fund’s investment portfolio would be invested into the sector.