(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudi Arabian mutual funds account for 66 percent of the total GCC asset management industry (17.5 billion), followed by Kuwaiti funds with 16 percent share and GCC/MENA mandated funds with 14 percent share, according to a report by Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz).
GCC asset management industry, with roughly 100 asset management companies, manages 26.5 billion in assets in about 328 funds as on Dec. 31, 2011, the report said.
In terms of products, money market funds lead the pack with a 53 percent share, followed by equities at 42 percent, while the remainder is in fixed income and specialized funds. Of the total, Islamic funds manage 17 billion (64 percent) in assets.
In terms of the number of funds, GCC/MENA mandated funds lead the table with 133 funds (41 percent), followed by Saudi Arabian funds with 112 funds (34 percent), and Kuwaiti funds with 47 funds (14 percent).
Product wise, there are 211 equity funds, 56 money market funds, 22 fixed income funds, and 39 specialized funds. Contrary to assets under management, there are more conventional funds (175 funds) than Islamic funds (153 funds),the report said.
According to the report, Saudi Arabia, with 17.5 billion in assets, had the highest AUM to GDP ratio of 3.1 percent, followed by Kuwait with AUM to GDP ratio of 2.6 percent. The ratio for all other countries was less than 0.5 percent, implying lack of institutional presence in the investment segment.
With the top 10 asset managers accounting for 74% of the total fund management industry, NCB Capital of Saudi Arabia leads the list of large asset management companies with 5.6 billion in assets (21 percent market share), followed by (Saudi) Samba Capital with 3.8 billion in assets (14 percent share). More than 65 percent of asset managers manage less than 100 million. One-half of fund managers at the bottom of the list account for just 2.9 percent of the total industry, the report said.
In terms of segments, different asset managers take the top spot in each segment. NCB Capital dominates Saudi Arabia with a 32 percent market share. Kuwait is a relatively more competitive market with the top asset manager (Kuwait Financial Centre) having only 18 percent market share closely followed by National Investments Co. with 17.8 percent share. National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Epicure Managers Qatar Ltd. are the top asset managers in UAE and Qatar, respectively.
