For 2nd Year in a row
NBAD Named Best Asset Management
House in Middle East
Abu Dhabi/Cairo (March 7, 2012) – The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), The Number One Bank in the UAE, has been named the Best Asset Management House in the Middle East by International Takaful Awards for the second year running.
“Winning this award for a second year in a row and adding this accolade to the list of other awards that NBAD’s Asset Management Group has won confirms that we continue to deliver innovative products that meet the highest expectations of investors and contribute to the development of the asset management industry in the country,” said Alan Durrant, the Group Chief Investment Officer of NBAD and General Manager of Asset Management Group.
International Takaful, which awarded the accolade based on financial achievement and client survey, recognized NBAD’s Asset Management Group for its superior performance and its commitment to innovate and offer Shari’a-compliant products. NBAD won the same award last year.
“We are proud to receive this prestigious award for the second year running and we are honored that the award was given based on our Takaful client feedback,” said Mark Watts, Head of Fixed Income in the Asset Management Group. “Managing portfolios for our Shari’a-compliant client base is something that we take extremely seriously and to underscore this we have invested much time and energy ensuring that our investment and operational teams are fully trained and qualified in Islamic Finance. This commitment is reflected in our performance where we continue to deliver strong income and returns at low levels of risk.”
NBAD’s Asset Management Group offers money market products through its conventional banking products and its Sukuk Income Fund, launched last year, which invests in a range of Islamic Fixed Income instruments (Sukuk) in the MENA and Asian region. The Fund aims to deliver attractive profit rates in a diversified fashion and hedge against downside risk where appropriate. Its unconstrained institutional segregated mandates have returned an annualized 7.77% after fees since inception in July 2011.
NBAD’s award-winning Asset Management Group manages assets in excess of AED5 billion, making it one of the largest asset managers in the region. Before winning this latest accolade, the NBAD Asset Management Group won Fixed Income Fund Manager of the Year by Global Investor magazine. Other awards include the Best Asset Management House in Middle East for Islamic products at the International Takaful Awards, the UAE Asset Manager of the Year in MENA Fund Manager Performance Awards from MENA Fund Manager magazine, and last year’s Best Asset Manager in the UAE, also from Global Investor.
Mr. Ahmed Ismail Hassan NBAD’s Regional Manager in Egypt, received the award on behalf of NBAD Asset Management Group.