Persian Gulf Investors Set For Big Hedge Fund Move

Institutional investors in the Persian Gulf region are on track to pour billions into hedge funds this year, following similar moves by U.S. investors last year.

Khalid al-Rumaihi, managing director for placement at Bahraini investment bank Investcorp, told a conference in Dubai to expect investors in the region to follow suit, Bloomberg News reports.

“You will have more investments from the Gulf this year,” he said. “We would expect a very good year.”

Middle Eastern and North African investors currently have some US$80 billion to US$120 billion invested in the world’s hedge funds, al-Rumaihi estimated. All told, hedge funds manage in excess of US$1.6 trillion worldwide.

The region is home to some of the largest sovereign wealth funds, including those of Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar. Investcorp itself manages some US4.5 billion in funds of hedge funds.