GIB’s Emerging Markets Fund wins award

By Farishta Saeed Manama, Dec. 29 (BNA): Gulf International Bank (GIB) said its Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund (EMOF) has won Credit Specialist award at Alternative (Alt) Credit Intelligence European Performance Awards. The EMOF is GIB’s London-based subsidiary Gulf International Bank (UK)’s flagship long/short global emerging markets credit fund. It seeks to provide consistent risk-adjusted returns over the medium to long term with low correlation to underlying market indices whilst preserving capital and minimising short-term volatility. A statement said the Alt Credit Intelligence Awards are a recognition and reward for funds that have outperformed their peers over the past 12 months. Alt Credit Intelligence is an international publication developed by Hedge Fund Management Community, an information and membership networking group providing services for the global hedge fund management community. GIB (UK) chief executive Mark Watts said the award recognised the fund’s “market leading risk-adjusted returns”. “Despite challenging market conditions between August 2014 and August 2015, EMOF returned 3.89pc net of fees to its investors," he said. "Positioning in the fund and sound risk management contributed to the delivery of the return." EMOF also prudently managed its liquidity situation and brought its leverage ratio down to around two times from three times, putting the fund in a comfortable situation to navigate current market turbulences. “Prospects are very strong for the next 12 months. We see the context of higher market volatility and re-pricing in emerging markets securities as a perfect opportunity for EMOF to identify new investment opportunities,” Watts added. GIB is owned by the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund owning 97.2 per cent.