UAE Mutual Fund Industry - Coursework Example

UAE Mutual Fund Industry Chapter One - Introduction: 1.1 International Mutual Fund industries around the world The turbulences within the international market have led to the development of financial products that can guarantee to the investors a minimum profit for their investment. Among these products, the most common and successful globally are the mutual funds. Because of their importance for the international economy, mutual funds have been extensively analyzed in the literature and the empirical research. In fact, the mutual fund industry has been thoroughly examined by financial analysts around the world who try to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the particular sector suggesting to their clients the most profitable solutions (in accordance with the capital invested and the profit targeted). In this context, in a study published by the University of Zurich it is mentioned that ‘due to the great transparency and quality of financial reporting, the mutual fund industry has been subject to a large amount of research, which has over time considerably extended our knowledge of the main elements of the industry; issues like performance measurement, style, managers’ compensation have been explored by many contributions’ (University of Zurich, 2002). It should be noticed that the mutual funds industry is a complex one. Even if the mutual funds available to potential investors are clearly defined, the terms related with their performance and the final profit for the investor can be sometimes explained through different frameworks resulting each time to different consequences for the investors involved. Moreover, the turbulences of the international market have a strong influence on the performance of mutual funds (especially when referring to the international mutual funds) and for this reason investors should be very careful when choosing the particular type of investment. Specifically, regarding the international mutual funds it is noticed that ‘international mutual funds are those funds that invest in non-domestic securities markets throughout the world; investing in international markets provides greater portfolio diversification and let you capitalize on some of the world's best opportunities’ (Finance and Investment guide, 2007). However, international mutual funds can hide significant risks. More specifically, if not appropriately chosen international mutual funds can lead to severe financial losses for the investors that participate in the relevant investment. Another issue that should be considered here is the fact that international mutual funds – like all other mutual funds – have specific costs which should be taken into consideration when deciding to proceed to the specific investment. The above costs are usually analytically explained by the firms involved in the trading of mutual funds; however in many cases the final amount due in the end of investment period can be differentiated if specific events (extremely adverse financial conditions in the financial markets in which the international mutual funds invest) have taken place in the meantime (during the investment period). In this case (which is included in the terms of the contract which is related with the particular investment) investors can realize that their investment does not offer the required profit (disputes are likely to appear between the investor and the intermediary – firm or individual). Regarding the specific issue, it is noticed in a report published by the BNET Research Centre (2000) that ‘expense ratios--the percentage of a fund's assets that goes to pay the bills--vary according to the type of mutual fund; for the international or global funds because they require a lot of travel and time, and have to navigate entry and exit from a number of overseas markets, the relevant costs tend to be higher than those of the average domestic stock fund’. However, if appropriate managed these costs can be limited but even in this case it would be quite difficult for managers involved to keep the costs of the funds at a stable level for a long. On the other hand, the differentiations in profits of mutual funds can be considered as a significant sign regarding the performance of the market as well as regarding the effectiveness of the fund management. Towards this direction, it is noticed in a report published by the ‘Skilled Investor’ (2007) that ‘higher bond and equity mutual fund turnover indicates that fund management is more active in buying and selling; higher turnover indicates the usually futile pursuit of better short-term returns’. On the other hand, the costs related with the effort to keep the turnover of mutual funds at a high level can minimize the profits resulted from the relevant investment. In fact, if not appropriate managed, mutual funds can have no particular profit for investors because all achieved gains may be paid to the intermediary (individual or firm) in order for the costs related with the funds’ administration to be covered. 1.2 Facts, statistics & Data The performance of mutual funds internationally has been extensively examined. In accordance with the research of Bauer et al. (2005, 1751) showed that there is ‘no evidence of significant differences in risk-adjusted returns between ethical and conventional funds for the 1990–2001 period; ethical mutual funds underwent a catching up phase, before delivering financial returns similar to those of conventional mutual funds’. The above research focuses especially on the performance of mutual funds as can be viewed using an ethical perspective. On the other hand, the study of Droms et al. (2001) referred especially to the performance persistence of international mutual funds for the years 1977 up to 1996. The relevant research proved that there is ‘international equity mutual funds exhibit strong performance persistence for short-term (1-year holding periods), but persistence generally fades after the first year while survivorship bias is a concern in virtually all time series studies of mutual fund returns’ (Droms et al., 2001, 237). Currently, the performance of mutual funds internationally could be characterized as instable. Because of this fact, it is noticed that ‘with many funds posting losses, early indications suggest that some investors are beginning to withdraw their money -- by one account, more than $450 million in outflows from the $40 billion-plus field’ (The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2007). However, the above trends are different across countries within the international community. A critical example could be that of Sweden and Norway. Sweden mutual funds industry currently faces a decline while in Norway the above industry is well developed. More specifically, for Sweden it is noticed that ‘total wealth in Swedish mutual funds decreased by SEK 43 billion in the third quarter; this was the first quarter with a negative value trend since the second quarter of 2006; by the end of the third quarter, total fund wealth for all sectors was SEK 1 452 billion; households' directly owned fund wealth was SEK 444 billion. This figure is SEK 21 billion less than the second quarter’ (Statistics Sweden, 2007). In Norway, the performance of the mutual funds industry could be characterized as significant. In a relevant report published by the Statistics Norway website (2007) it is noticed that ‘the net purchase of mutual funds shares is 12.5 billion NOK in the second quarter of this year; this is considerably lower compared to the previous two quarters, but on the same level as a year ago; the investments in the second quarter are on the whole made in equity funds; as of 30 June 2007, the market value of all mutual funds shares is 445.7 billion NOK; this is an increase of 8.6 per cent compared to the figures in the previous quarter’ (Statistics Norway, 2007). In USA the performance of mutual funds industry as measured in 2007 it could be also characterized as important. More specifically, it has been found that ‘the combined assets of the nation's mutual funds increased by $406.20 billion, or 3.5 percent, to $11.906 trillion in September, according to the Investment Company Institute's official survey of the mutual fund industry’ (ICI Statistics and Research, 2007). The trends of the mutual funds industry in USA is represented in the Table 1 below.   Sept 07 Aug 07 % chg Dec 06 Stock Funds 6,717.8 6,419.0R 4.7 5,911.6 Hybrid Funds 702.8 693.0R 1.4 653.1 Taxable Bond Funds 1,260.7 1,238.3R 1.8 1,129.5 Municipal Bond Funds 378.2 372.5R 1.5 364.9 Taxable Money Market Funds 2,424.0 2,356.4R 2.9 1,988.1 Tax-Free Money Market Funds 422.6 420.7R 0.5 366.4 Total 11,906.1 11,499.9R 3.5 10,413.6 Table 1 – Mutual Funds in USA, September 2007, billions of dollars (source: ICI Statistics and Research, 2007) In the Asian area, mutual funds industry is also well developed. The study of Oh et al. (2007) refers to the mutual funds industry in Korea. In the particular country it has been found that ‘a positive relationship exists between stock market returns and mutual fund flows, measured as stock purchases and sales and net trading volumes; Korean equity fund managers tend to increase stock purchases in times of rising market volatility, possibly disregarding fundamental information, and to sell in times of wide dispersion in investor beliefs’ (Oh et al., 2007, 140). In other words, the performance of Korean mutual funds industry could be characterized as satisfactory. However, appropriate improvements should be made in order for the above industry to reach the required levels of performance. An indicative example of the importance of mutual funds industry for the development of local economies is the case of Australia. In accordance with a research published in the International Herald Tribune (2007) ‘Australia's mutual fund assets have more than doubled in the past four years, making it the world's fourth-largest market, ahead of Germany and Japan; that is attracting overseas money managers who once ignored the country of 20 million people; Australians are the world's biggest fund investors, holding an average of 48,178 Australian dollars’. The above data can lead to the assumption that mutual fund industry has still many prospects for growth despite the turbulences occurred within the international market. However, this growth is strongly depended on the potentials of the particular country for growth and the development of the appropriate policies that will ensure the protection of the investors’ rights. In any case, mutual funds are considered to be an important part of any economy within the international community. Regarding the particular issue, Ong et al. (2004) stated that ‘the expansion of the global mutual funds industry has been characterized by growth in mature as well as emerging markets; this has clearly contributed to the development of local securities markets in emerging market economies, which in turn, has been key in attracting investment inflows from overseas funds; while local investors remain the more important group in terms of market share, the influence of foreign funds cannot be discounted’. In other words, mutual funds industries around the world have played a major role in the development of local economies. In the long term, this role would have a significant impact on the decision of investors in order to choose a particular type of investment. There is no doubt that mutual funds industries around the world have a significant performance. This success should be primarily considered as the result of appropriate strategy (i.e. appropriately structured fund management). In this context, many plans have been considered to be most appropriate for investors within the international market. In accordance with the study of Patro (2005, 4) ‘it is often suggested that investors should hold an internationally diversified portfolio; because of the low correlations between international equity markets, investors could potentially improve their reward to risk ratio by investing globally; however there is no direct evidence that investors flow this strategy’. On the other hand, there seems to be no evidence that the policies designed by fund managers around the world are followed strictly by the investors. This phenomenon should be considered as having both positive and negative effects. In its positive aspect, the funds invested are based on personal views which are often developed after thorough consideration on a particular investment decision. The negative effects of this phenomenon are the fact that investors intervene in the investment decision throughout the relevant procedure. In this way, the development of the crisis between the employer and the employee should be considered as possible. Mutual funds have differentiated the traditional methods of trading within the international market. More specifically, it is noticed that ‘the individual investor with limited capital, once constrained in achieving full diversification benefits, can now create mutual fund portfolios similar to portfolios of investors who purchase fixed income securities and equities directly; it is possible to structure a portfolio of mutual funds that invest in a diverse array of securities traded within the U. S. and abroad’ (Redman et al., 2000, 1). In other words, it is no longer necessary to invest a significant amount of money in order to achieve a specific profit. Investment can take place through an intermediary who will have all necessary information related with the person who is interested to proceed to a particular investment. At a next level, the placement of the invested amount is decided by the fund managers who should have the appropriate theoretical and empirical knowledge in order to respond to the needs of the particular transaction. Chapter Two UAE Mutual Industry: 2.1 Introduction The economy of UAE is considered to be closely related with the oil. However, during the last decade many efforts have been made in order to ‘liberate’ the country’s economy from oil and its products. Regarding this issue, it is noticed in a report published by the Business Times (November 2007) that ‘oil and gas production will no longer be the major source of public revenue in Abu Dhabi with the government's determined strategy of diversifying the economy and creating new productive sectors based on solid partnerships with the private sector, says Adel Al Zarouni, Managing Director of Burooj Properties’. It seems that the country’s government wishes the development of all industrial sectors, a fact that will also help towards the support of the country’s economy in the long term (when the production of oil will be limited and the reserves will be not sufficient) in order for the needs of the population for energy (either through the oil or the gas) to be met. Because of the above issues, the investment in mutual funds has become a trend within the local economy. Many factors have helped towards the increase of investments made in the mutual funds in the specific country. The explanation of the role of government and of the intermediaries used in the particular transaction will help towards the understanding of the development of mutual funds in all country’s markets. 2.2 Governments & Main players The development of mutual fund industry in UAE is supported primarily by the country’s government. At a next level, major financial institutions (banks, investment houses and so on) based on the country have also a role in the growth of mutual funds industry in UAE. Regarding this issue it is noticed that ‘Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) and Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) yesterday (27/5/2007) announced the launch of two Sharia-compliant crude oil funds that will enable investors to benefit from price movements of crude oil over a two-year investment period’ . Another financial institution that participates actively in the effort to promote the mutual funds industry of UAE is Mashreq. In accordance with a report published by the above company ‘Mashreq is the largest privately owned bank in the UAE with total assets of US$ 13,6 billion; Makaseb is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mashreq and has been at the forefront of opening up opportunities for investors in the Middle East; its expertise has made our mutual funds and services, the vehicles of choice for sophisticated investors, both domestic and international’ (Makaseb, 2007). Mashreq and its subsidiary, Makaseb, focus on the growth of investment in the greater Middle East region; in UAE the above two financial institutions have a primary role in the development of local economy through their products related with a series of investment placements; mutual funds are among the financial products that these two institutions promote. It should also be necessary to refer to the country’s financial market, the Dubai Financial Market which ‘was established as a public institution having its own independent corporate body by a Resolution from the Ministry of Economy No 14 of 2000 and is currently operating as a secondary market for trading of securities issued by public joint-stock companies, bonds issued by the Federal Government or any of the Local Governments and public institutions in the country, units of investment funds and any other financial instruments, local or foreign, which are accepted by the Market’ (Dubai Financial Market, 2007). The operational rules and structure of the specific market favor the development of investment offering a secure and effective system of trading all available financial products. 2.3 Present mutual funds in the UAE (statistics & Performance) Mutual funds in UAE can be related with a series of extremely difficult conditions. In this context, in a report published by Zawya (2007) that ‘Saudi retail investors certainly seem to be playing a game of watch-and-wait - for now; that is not surprising given that the Tadawul-based equity mutual funds table remains a sea of red as they have failed to recover from the stock market crash of 2006 and have shown an inability to get out of the rut in the first half of 2007; only two other funds managed to remain in the black in the past 12 months among the 27 Saudi equity funds tracked by Zawya Mutual Funds Monitor’ (Zawya, 2007). Towards the same direction, a study published by Zawya (2007) proved that ‘in the UAE, ShuaaShuaa’s Emirates Gateway Fund has also done well over the past year, nearly doubling returns to 13.5 per cent compared to its benchmark; Shuaa ShuaaUAE index which was up by 7.6 per cent in the same period’ (Zawya, 2007). The above research refers to a specific product within the mutual funds industry; however, the performance of other funds within the UAE fund market, should be considered also to be important (for the estimation of country’s needs for corporate plans). The growth of the mutual funds industry of UAE can be made clear through the presentation of a series of indicative ‘products’, i.e. mutual funds that are currently traded within the country’s financial market. In this context, a report published by the ‘Islam online’ (2007) notices that ‘"Al Na'eem' was the first Sharia' compliant fund launched by a local asset management firm in the UAE; the fund has posted remarkable returns in 2007, out-performing its benchmark by 2.3%, up to 28 June, 2007’. Apart from the above fund, other mutual funds have been involved in the daily financial transactions taking place in UAE. Indicative, we could also refer to the case of the fund offered by Citibank. Towards this direction, it is made clear that ‘Citibank, a member of Citi, recently entered into a distribution arrangement with DWS Investments, the global mutual fund arm of Deutsche Bank, whereby Citibank will make available to its customers the full range of DWS investment products which also include the Shari’a-compliant “DWS Noor Islamic Funds”’. The strategic cooperation of Citigroup with the particular firm could be considered to be significant towards the improvement of the country’s cooperation with other member states. The mutual funds offered to the public by Citigroup should be considered to be extremely valuable mostly because of their structure and their prospects for performance especially in the long term. Regarding these products the following issues have been highlighted: ‘DWS Noor Islamic Funds have been developed to meet the specific needs of retail and institutional Islamic investors; the DWS Noor family of funds includes: DWS Noor Precious Metals Securities Fund, DWS Noor Global Select Equity Fund, DWS Noor China Equity Fund, DWS Noor Japan Equity Fund, and DWS Noor Asia Pacific Equity Fund’ (Citigroup, March, 18, 2007). All the above categories of funds available in UAE are just indicative. In fact, many products related with the mutual funds investment industry have been developed through the years taking into account the needs of the specific market and the potentials of customers to follow the guidelines related with the administration of the fund in the long term. Apart from the mutual funds mentioned above, two other similar ‘products’ offered by the country’s financial institutions are considered to be of significant importance. In this context, it is supported that ‘"Enhanced Oil Fund I", is a US$100 million private placement offer that seeks to provide investors with quarterly distributions and a targeted total return of 20 per cent over a period of 24 months; this fund provides 90 per cent capital preservation; 'Enhanced Oil Fund II', a higher risk fund with no capital preservation, is a US$50 million private placement offer, which seeks to provide investors with quarterly distributions but with a targeted total return of 40 per cent over a period of 24 months; both funds have a minimum subscription level of US$250,000, with subsequent investments in multiples of US$25,000’ (UAE Interact, 2007) The above mentioned funds are part of the effort made by the financial institutions based in UAE in order to promote the particular method of investment. In fact, the financial market of the specific country seems to be positive towards the further development of mutual funds industry. However, appropriate framework should be developed by all governmental authorities participated in the relevant effort. As for the choice of the appropriate mutual fund – among the mutual funds available within the financial market of UAE – this should be based on the needs of each particular investor and his targets in the long term. 2.4 Current trends in the industry As described above, mutual funds industry has a significant growth in UAE. Regarding this issue, it is stated that ‘currently, mutual funds industry in UAE faces a significant growth; for this reason, inUnited Bank Limited (UBL), which completes 40 years of its operations in the UAE in July this year, announced in November, 2007 the the launch of three of its flagship mutual funds to UAE investors through UBL Fund Managers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of UBL’ (AME Info, November, 2007) In accordance with the data published through the above article mutual funds industry should be regarded as a significant economy sector. However, the last two years severe delays have been observed in the growth of the above sector. On the other hand, in accordance with a report published by Arab News (June 3, 2007) ‘lack of innovation, clear regulations and badly managed funds are still holding back the regional mutual funds industry, which is widely estimated to be $55 billion, despite resurgent equity markets; mutual funds, which emerged in the region as strong market stabilizers, were battered just as badly during the 2006 equity market crash as retail investors, raising doubts of their efficiency’. The above weaknesses of the country’s financial market should be effectively faced in order for the local economy to be developed in accordance with its potentials. 2.5 Recommendations: to improve the mutual fund industry in the UAE Regarding the above, the mutual fund industry in UAE should be improved to the following areas: implementation of innovative schemes regarding the investment through mutual funds, clear explanation of the rules and the terms that regulate the particular industry highlighting the importance of the industry for the development of the country’s economy. At a next level, governmental authorities should continuously control the financial transactions taking place in the particular industry ensuring the protection of investors by possible violations of their rights. The potential expansion of the country’s financial market and particularly of the mutual funds industry through the growth of investments made in the mutual funds across the country’s financial markets, should be also considered. Chapter Three Conclusion In accordance with the issues presented above, the development of mutual funds industry of UAE should be considered as significant. However, there are many issues related with this industry in UAE. More specifically, when trading in a particular market it is necessary to understand that the performance of the financial products promoted to the clients cannot be guaranteed. Even if the relevant terms are included within the contract involved in the order for a particular investment initiative involving mutual funds, there could be no such obligation of the trader. In the research presented by Kao et al. (1998) it is stated that ‘managers of international mutual funds possess good selectivity and overall performance; there is a negative correlation between the international fund managers' selection ability and market-timing ability; managers for European funds show poorer performance than those managing the other three international fund groups’ (Kao et al., 1998, 127). In other words, mutual funds can achieve a significant performance but only if administered appropriately. However, this task is considered to be a challenging one for managers around the world. Despite the above difficulties, the investment in mutual funds has been increased. In fact, in accordance with an article published by Shultes (2007) ‘alternative assets will attract $2.5 trillion (€1.8 trillion) in new fund flows from investors worldwide by 2011, according to research from Casey, Quirk & Associates, a Boston-based consulting group’ (Shultes, 2007). The above figures are related with USA, however the results produced could be related with many countries internationally. Specifically regarding the development of mutual funds industry of UAE it should be noticed that the particular industry has been highly developed the last decade after a relevant governmental initiative related with the effort for making the country’s economy ‘autonomous’ towards the oil, the gas and the rest energy – related products of the country. The evaluation of mutual funds industry in UAE as presented recently by a report published in the Arab News, could be regarded as quite positive. In fact it is noticed that ‘despite its shortcomings, the mutual funds industry continues to blossom, not just in equity-focused, but diverse, fixed income and other forms of mutual funds’ (Arab News, 2007). On the other hand, the prospects for the development of mutual funds industry in the UAE seem to be promising. More specifically, referring to a research made by the Zawya Mutual Funds Monitor, it is noticed that ‘the GCC mutual fund industry is estimated to grow to $160 billion by 2010, with the UAE fund industry alone reaching a size of $50 billion. Saudi Arabia, which currently has more than 200 operating mutual funds, will continue to have the biggest concentration of funds’ (Arab News, June 3, 2007). Moreover, the presentation of the percentages referring to the development of indexes of mutual funds the last years can lead to the assumption that the government of UAE has achieved the required target, i.e. the gradual independency of the country’s economy from oil and gas; however this is an effort that should be continued for quite a long in order to support more effectively the growth of the country’s economy. 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W. Cheng, Kam C. Chan (1998) International mutual fund selectivity and market timing during up and down market conditions The Financial Review 33 (2), 127–144 Makaseb (2007), [online], available at http://www.makaseb.com/ Oh, N., Parwada, J. (2007) Relations between mutual fund flows and stock market returns in Korea. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 17(2): 140-151 Ong, L., Amadou, L. (2004) The Role of Mature Market Mutual Funds in Emerging Markets: Myth or Mayhem?, [online], available at http://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/04-133.html Patro, D. (2005) International mutual funds flows, [online], available at http://www.bnet.fordham.edu/crif/WorkingPapers/Presenter%20Papers/imf-flows.pdf Redman, A., Gullett, N., Manakyan, H. (2000) The performance of global and international mutual funds. Journal of financial and strategic decisions, 13(1): 1-11 http://www.studyfinance.com/jfsd/pdffiles/v13n1/redman.pdf Schultes, R., October 8, 2007 New fund flows to reach 2.5 trillion, [online], available at http://www.efinancialnews.com/assetmanagement/index/content/2448897468/restricted Statistics Sweden (2007) Considerable outflow of funds, [online], available at http://www.scb.se/templates/pressinfo____217723.asp Statistics Norway (2007) Continued Investments in mutual funds, [online], available at http://www.ssb.no/en/vpfondk/ The Skilled Investor (2007), [online], available at http://www.theskilledinvestor.com/ss.item.46/avoid-mutual-funds-with-higher-investment-portfolio-turnover.html The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2007, A Stumble for Bank Loan mutual funds, [online], available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118584911013983087.html?mod=googlenews_wsj University of Zurich (2002) The mutual fund industry: Internal and External Factors of Performance, [online], available at http://www.nccr-finrisk.unizh.ch/media/pdf/conference_120902.pdf UAE Interact, May, 28, 2007, [online], available at http://uaeinteract.com/docs/Bahrain_and_UAE_firms_launch_two_crude_oil_funds_worth_US$150m/25510.htm Zawya (2007) Mutual Funds, an attractive options, [online], available at http://blogs.zawya.com/yadullah/071027101017/ Appendices Figure 1 – Performance of M3 fund, USA (M3: M2 plus large time deposits that are over $100,000, non individual (financial institution or company) money market fund balances), source: http://www.nowandfutures.com/key_stats.html Figure 2 - Households' net acquisitions of mutual fund shares 1997-2006, EUR billion, Finland (source: http://www.stat.fi/til/rtp/2006/rtp_2006_2007-07-12_tie_001_en.html) Read More