• Reviewing the policies and priorities for capital market developments within MENA
• Evaluating the oil factor and how oil controls the economy and predicting the likely financial future of the Middle East’s capital markets
• Assessing quantitative indications in the recent history of the size and structure of the regions markets
• Examining the banking sector and global financial integration

• Examining what reforms and incentive structures have regulators in the MENA implemented to further attract international and regional investors
• Examining the initiatives taken in the region to improve transparency, disclosure and corporate governance best practice
• Reviewing the current standard for fund management in the Middle East and how this may evolve in the future
• Predicting the likely implications for market development, activity and investment limits within the region

• Assessing the latest developments and examining the key drivers of real growth within the region
• Understanding what challenges need to be addressed to further enhance the domestic industry
• Reinvigorating the funds management industry through introducing innovative products
• Examining risk management strategies as a means to control
  the volatility of the regional markets

• Hedge fund fallacies: Asset class-arbitrage-absolute returns
• Assessing the importance of understanding the return and risk drivers
• Breaking the 'opacity barrier': Is there a (mathematical) method
  in their madness?
• Examining the correlation conundrum: Why traditional fund of funds fail to deliver returns?
• Looking into the crystal ball: Predicting the shape of things to come

Sponsored by

• Reviewing the regulatory initiatives and market developments within the region
• Identifying the unique challenges in the GCC and predicting what progress can be made over the next 3-5 years?
• Evaluating the implications of another financial hub rivaling the UAE: Bahrain or Saudi Arabia?
• Assessing the opportunities for GCC managers within the
  MENA equity markets

• Assessing the successful strategies for entering non-GCC market
• Developing the right products for investors in the regional and international markets
• Finding the right distribution channels to market your fund
• Exploring the cross-state negotiation skills necessary to succeed in the region

A Terrapinn innovation, this is the revolutionary, exciting, quick and nonpressured way to meet fellow conference delegates and industry peers in one 30-min session. These brief meetings are the starting point for conversation and networking throughout the conference. This is where long-lasting and profitable
business relationships begin.

• Meet... Move on... meet... move on... meet!
• Exchange business cards with fellow conference delegates
  and industry peers
• Don’t forget to bring lots of business cards, a box or two will
  do!

• Examining what Middle Eastern investors are looking for in
  their Asian allocation
• Assessing what is being done to attract Chinese and Indian
  investments to the Middle East
• Evaluating what regulatory changes are needed in these
  countries to attract more fund inflows
•  Analysing the importance between the cultural divide between
  China, India and the Middle East’s and how to improve
  economic ties

• Reviewing the current status, economic developments and how these factors are shaping the modern Islamic funds industry
• Examining the challenges behind Shariah compliance and assessing what can be done to expedite greater uniformity in approving Shari’ah investment products?
• Assessing the latest innovations and products within the Islamic alternative investments market
• Examining the investor profiles and widening the appeal of Islamic funds products to non-Islamic markets

• Examining the implications of the excess liquidity in the regional markets and what this means for both managers and investors alike
• Identifying the sources of capital for Middle Eastern funds: What countries are the major inflows coming from and how may this may evolve?
• Evaluating how Middle Eastern managers can make themselves more appealing to investors through product innovation and better risk and volatility management
• Where are we headed and are there any limits to the growth?

• Determining the terms acceptable to investors and what trends and changes are we seeing?
• Approaching investors from a distance: How can international managers overcome Middle Eastern geographic and time differences 
• Assessing transparency: Debating which details should be accepted as proprietary?
• Examining how managers are screened and single managers are selected for inclusion in a fund

• Examining how domestic and international banks can better understand and meet the cultural and investment needs of the Middle East’s HNW clients
•  Assessing the opportunities for private banks and family offices in terms of access to the Middle East’s HNWI
• Developing and contrasting various distribution strategies within the Middle East
• Products or people: Examining the keys to successfully tapping
  into the Middle East and the Islamic HNW market within the
  region

• Recognising the needs and exceeding the expectations of investors within the region
• Pinpointing the key factors for success when marketing to domestic investors: Navigating through languages, cultures and the appetite for risk when distributing innovative products
• Understanding the key considerations for successfully distributing funds within the Middle East
• Assessing the opportunities for fund distributors and the role they play within the Middle East

• Evaluating what investors want and what products are currently the most popular within the region
• Examining existing distribution methodologies and how these channels can be improved within the Middle East and abroad
• Understanding why diversification and innovation is a key component of the value chain
• Lessons from successful start-up funds and how they effectively raise capital
• Looking at how fund managers and distributors can increase the uptake and demand from retail investors

• Gaining an insight on private equity investments and the evaluation process
•  Country by country analysis of specific trends, challenges and opportunities within this sector
• Fund showcases: Evaluating direct approaches to investing in specific private equity funds
• Sector showcase: Examining what sectors are affording good
  regional private equity opportunities and why?

• Sourcing and evaluating top hedge fund managers
• Evaluating what are the best investment styles and strategies
• Portable alpha and multiple alphas in hedge funds
• Investors and their approach to Shari’ah compliant hedge
  funds

• Understanding the broad real estate fund opportunities within the Middle East
•  Examining REITs, their structure and compliance issues
• Examining cross border investment strategies in the region and across the globe
• Understanding the legal requirements of property investment
  within the GCC

• Examining the evolution and profile of Sukuk structures in the Middle East
• Highlighting the key recent developments and opportunities in the Sukuk market
• Managing the financial risks of Sukuk structures
• CASE STUDY: The Nakheel Sukuk and examining the reasons
  for its record popularity

• Determining the optimal investment mix for your asset allocation objectives
• Guiding institutional investors on investment selections based on strategic and tactical objectives
•  Examining when you need to re-assess your investor’s objectives and highlighting how risk allocation is related to the policy asset mix, tactical asset allocation and active management decisions
• How can portfolio managers use asset allocation techniques
  to strategically construct “big return” investment opportunities
  for their clients

• Examining the fundamental market risk concerns for the region and how these can best be managed
• Assessing how prepared the Middle East is for fat tail risks?
• Evaluating the implications of Basel II on risk pricing models
• Implementing probability of default based models within Middle East
• Understanding the impact of advanced volatility forecasting
  approaches when applied to the Middle East’s markets

• Capital allocation techniques for market risk and credit risk
• Utilising technology to reduce capital allocation for operational risk management
• Reconciling regulatory demands with investors requirements within the region
• Understanding and coping with reporting requirements
• Improving the efficiency and transparency of equity markets
  within MENA

    Masterclass leader:
Mr. Nitin Raheja
Chief Investment Officer
Dawnay Day AV India Advisors Pte Ltd

What is the masterclass about?
This masterclass is designed for fund and asset managers who are interested in penetrating the regional institutional investor market of the Middle East. Attendees will gain valuable insights into how they can develop effective strategies to identify and enter new markets using an array of best practice marketing analysis principals.
Using pragmatic business models and best practice methodologies, attendees of this workshop will learn strategic market entry and market penetration techniques. Participants will also gain a deep insight into how unique and systematic market intelligence can help in their market entry and in all areas of their ongoing business.

The masterclass fascilitator will highlight the individual steps of such a strategy process, starting with the fundamental analytics such as the:

• SWOT-analysis and the importance of an independent view.
• External analysis among relevant target groups in order to match core
  competences of the organisation with relevant needs of institutional
  and semi-institutional investors as well as multipliers
• A unique model-based market intelligence process which tracks
  individual countries and their market players based on a systematic
  process
  

Based on these three analytic steps we will show the interdependency between the result of the analysis and goals (such target groups, qualitative, and quantitative targets) as well as strategies to achieve those goals by looking at available resources (human, financial, technology, time to market etc.).

The result of the masterclass will give people a complete understanding of what is possible using modern models and technology. We will use a modular software to show how market structures and participants can be mapped and interdependencies will be visualised.

• Examining the opportunities for investors within the Middle East real
  estate market
• Practical issues involved in real estate fund establishment
• Examining the core principles of investing when applied to real estate
  funds
• Assessing the composition and selection of advisors
• Separating marketing and distribution functions
• Selecting and using appropriate benchmarks
• REITs – concepts and how they differ from sukuks
• Local market indices
• Determining the distribution channels and fee structures
• Legal and tax issues to be considered
• Risk management issues
• Investor perspective: What are investors looking for in real estate transactions and where are they investing?
• Examining cross border investment strategies in the region and across
  the globe
• Creating capital raising avenues and strategies
• Effective structuring of cross border deals
• Joint ventures and co-investments
• Key growth and development strategies for Middle East property
  developers

About the Masterclass leader
Rakesh Patnaik is the Real Estate Fund Manager at Global Investment House, Kuwait, with the responsibility of Structuring, Sponsoring, Launching and Managing real estate funds on a worldwide basis. Rakesh has 12 years of experience in Real
Estate Investment, Acquisition, Corporate Real Estate and Leasing, with property experience in key markets in United States, The Gulf Region and South Asia.

About Global Investment House
Global Investment House is a Kuwaiti investment company licensed by the Central Bank of Kuwait. Our business philosophy is to build distinguished relationships with our clients, business partners, shareholders, and staff based on professionalism and trust resulting in stronger returns to all parties involved.

Global Investment House plays an important role in promoting investment opportunities in the Arabian Gulf Peninsula to international investors through expert financial engineering. It also provides investors with a diverse scope of international and national investment opportunities, and facilitates those investments by providing clients with services that target their individual needs.