Emirates NBD Asset Management signs strategic partnership with Acordias

Emirates NBD Asset Management announced today that it has signed an agreement with Acordias, a service platform for financial intermediaries, to facilitate distribution of its managed funds to European domestic, expatriate financial advisers and international life companies. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Acordias will market Emirates NBD managed funds that invest across a range of mandates and asset classes, including the Middle East and North Africa. 

“Europe is one of the most developed and competitive fund markets,” said Deon Vernooy, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates NBD Asset Management. “Over the past year, Emirates NBD Asset Management has been exploring various options to enter the European market and has identified suitable channels to reach asset allocators and financial advisers. We believe this tie up will enable international investors to access our managed funds through Acordias’ best of breed financial products and tax-efficient wrap solutions,” he added. 

International investors are attracted to Arab­ markets because of the continuing growth in the region, backed by high oil and gas prices, economic wealth and current attractive valuations across equity and bond markets. 

This is the latest step in the fund manager’s strategy to increase third-party distribution partnerships and follows its foray into Singapore in 2010. The group has signed agreements with numerous global distribution partners in the past 18 months to service a growing international client base. 

Emirates NBD Asset Management is a wholly-owned subsidiary and the asset management division of Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region. An asset management company regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority and based in the Dubai International Financial Centre, it manages over $1.6 billion across a range of funds and asset classes. These include the MENA equity and fixed income funds and a suite of global risk profiled funds. 

Andrew Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer, Acordias, said: “Emerging markets have been popular with investors in the past few years, and our brokers are currently seeking more undiscovered growth opportunities. The Emirates funds were overweight oil rich nations and underweight equities prior to the recent unrest and have therefore faired well against peers and benchmarks. They offer an interesting opportunity to access a region which because of recent anxiety has potential for healthy returns over the medium to long term. As such we think that they are a great addition to our platform.” 

Through its dedicated financial platform, Acordias provides a robust infrastructure, access to industry leading partners and a range of financial planning tools designed to assist intermediaries to better understand their client needs. 

European institutional and professional investors now have access to investment fund products managed by Emirates NBD Asset Management through the Emirates NBD London Branch, an FSA regulated firm that acts as a distributor of the products.

Emirates NBD Asset Management, which is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, is the asset management division of Emirates NBD Bank, the largest bank by assets in the MENA region. The asset management entity manages over $1.6billion across a range of products including MENA equity and fixed income funds, global risk profiled funds and a complete range of Shari’a compliant vehicles. The Emirates NBD managed funds are domiciled in Jersey and are regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission.