Buoyed by income from its rich reserves of crude oil and natural gas, these countries – especially the Gulf Cooperation Countries – have transformed their respective economies, expanding their GDPs beyond hydrocarbons.
Starting from humble beginnings as a small UAE-focused asset management firm seeking to participate in the country’s economic renaissance in the early 2000s, the firm has expanded significantly and now boasts an impressive global presence. It now has well over 7,300 investors drawn from more than 61 countries around the globe. And at last count, the Dubai Investment Fund has about $320 Billion in assets under management.
The firm operates across multiple facets of the finance industry, including asset management, investment banking, investment advisory, wealth management, equity research, and brokerage, among many others. Its current CEO, Rashed Sharif, was appointed in February 2021 after holding several senior leadership positions in the Saudi sovereign wealth fund between 2017 and 2020 and at other financial institutions in the country.
Although it is active across the region, where it is listed on stock exchanges in Kuwait, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, GFH is primarily headquartered in Bahrain. Dedicated to the diversity and equality ideals of the modern world, the firm declared that as much as 43.5% of its total new hires in 2021 were women, an impressive feat by any standards.KAMCO Investments, an independent investment subsidiary of the KIPCO Group, was established in Kuwait in 1998 and listed on the Boursa Kuwait in 2003.