Dubai To Host Middle Eastern Hedge Fund Conference

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

27 January 2005

Dubai will next month play host to the Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference 2005, where high profile figures in the Middle Eastern investment world will gather to discuss issues pertinent to both the regional and global hedge fund markets.

“The Hedge Funds Middle East conference is the single most important event in the region that deals with alternative investments, providing an ideal meeting place for investors and product providers alike to discuss the future development of the industry,” noted Antoine Massad, Head of Middle East & Asia at Man Investments.

Among the topics to be explored at the conference, which is being staged between February 28 and March 2, will be the 12 month outlook for Middle Eastern investors and for global hedge fund returns. In addition, panellists will look at the likely strategies to be employed by funds of funds to deliver better performance for investors, and the new breed of hedge funds emerging out of the Middle East.

Other discussions will focus on innovations in structured products and alternative investment allocations, creating a forum for specialist and novice investors alike.

A separate Man Investments’ pre-conference workshop to be held on February 28 will also examine challenges and opportunities in the hedge fund industry.

“The hedge fund industry has evolved rapidly over the past few years, as a growing number of investors have come to recognise the long-term return potential of the asset class, and now stands on the brink of becoming a mainstream investment,” added Mr Massad, who will be one of the keynote speakers at the main conference.

Other speakers on the panel will include: Pradeep Mehra, Vice President, Managed Funds at the Arab Banking Corporation (Bahrain); Mohamed Seif El Nasr, Deputy Treasurer at the Saudi National Commercial Bank (Bahrain); Dr. Marcel A. Giacometti, President and founder of Auda Advisor Associates (New York); Abdulaziz Abdulmohsen Al Duweesh, Fund Manager, Treasury & International Securities National Investments Company (Kuwait); Sheik Mohamed Alkhalifa, Director of Finance & Investments General Organisation for Social Insurance (Bahrain); Ahmet H. Okumus, President/Portfolio Manager, Okumus Capital; and Derek Stewart CEO Mellon Global Alternative Investments (New York).

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