The
Baring MENA fund will be managed by Ghadir Abu Leil-Cooper, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa equities, who believes the long-term investment case for the region is compelling.
"The MENA region has everything to offer investors, there are strong long-term growth prospects thanks to the recovery in the oil price and a young and growing population," she says.
Leil-Cooper says the recovery in oil price is very supportive for the region and with the long-term demand for energy likely to remain high believes the resource-rich MENA economies to benefit from this for years to come.
The fund will focus on sectors such as consumption, industrials, infrastructure and healthcare which Leil-Cooper believes will grow considerably over the long-term. It will also offer exposure to the following countries: Egypt (29 per cent), UAE (20 per cent), Qatar (16 per cent) Turkey (12 per cent), Saudi Arabia (10 per cent), Kuwait (seven per cent), Jordon (four per cent) and Oman (two per cent).
The fund will be launched on 29 March and will have an initial charge of 5 per cent and an AMC of 1.5 per cent.