ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Waha Capital (ADX: WAHA), an Abu Dhabi-listed investment management company, has been selected by MSCI for inclusion in its key UAE and global small-cap indexes.
The decision by MSCI, one of the world’s leading index providers, raises Waha Capital’s profile amongst global institutional investors. MSCI indexes are closely replicated by passive funds and other investment vehicles, such as mutual and exchange traded funds (ETFs), and widely used as benchmarks for their respective markets.
Starting from 1 December 2021, Waha Capital will be included in the MSCI United Arab Emirates Small Cap Index as well as the MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index in addition to the MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index, which is the flagship global small cap equity index comprising both developed and emerging market countries.
These capitalisation weighted indexes are composed using methodology that emphasizes liquidity, investability and replicability.
“The inclusion in these MSCI indexes, further elevates Waha Capital’s profile with international investors,” said Ahmed Khalifa Al Mehairi, Chief Executive Officer at Waha Capital.
“Importantly, this development is set in the context of increased liquidity and strong performance by the UAE’s capital markets this year, driven by new listings and the country’s well managed recovery from the global pandemic. As the company forges ahead with a new phase of growth, we are focused on enhancing investor engagement, in line with our long-standing commitment to best practice in transparency and governance.”
Waha Capital reported in early November a net profit of AED 297 million for the first nine months of 2021.
The company operates two core businesses: Public Markets, which offers sophisticated investors actively managed emerging markets credit and equities funds; and Private Investments, which pursues a multi-asset investment approach, with the flexibility to deploy capital directly across diverse sectors and geographies.
With over US$ 1 billion of assets under management in its emerging-markets focused equity and credit funds, Waha Capital’s Public Market business was named as one of the leading asset managers in the region this year by Forbes Middle East. The company’s flagship Waha MENA Equity Fund has also been ranked as one of the world’s top 50 hedge funds by the Global Investment Report.