Russias Pharos Fund Sets up Shop in Dubai |
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Author: Melissa Akin, Thomson Reuters.com
One of Russia's top performing hedge funds, Pharos Financial Group, has opened an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to attract Gulf investors to its funds, Pharos said on Monday [Nov. 17]. "Our move to DIFC was an easy strategic decision given our expectation that the need for quality asset management in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) will grow substantially over the next decade," Pharos founder Peter Halloran said in a statement. "Pharos intends to fill the niche as the market leader in emerging markets fund management." Pharos, whose Russia Fund is down 35.7% year-to-date, compared to a 73.5% decline on Russia's benchmark RTS share index, said it was the first Russia-focused fund to join DIFC. Gulf oil wealth has sought a home on Russian markets and flows were forecast to increase until the global credit crisis hit Russia's financial industry. Even though Russian shares have been among the world's worst performers in the second half of the year, the Kremlin still harbors ambitions to remake Moscow into a regional financial capital, pitting it against Dubai for emerging markets flows. By Melissa Akin
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
