Hazem Ayoub

Tell us about your role and your team.

I manage three teams within the wealth space. The first team comprises highly qualified product managers and specialists, who are responsible for investment products and solutions The second team consists of investment specialists, who work hand-in-hand with relationship managers and clients. The third team includes our digital squad, which focuses on all digital developments related to the Investment business within the wealth space.

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How many fund houses do you work with and how many funds are on your product shelf? What new strategies have you selected this year?

Our open architecture platform provides a wide range of mutual funds with access to more than 200+ funds globally spread across 35+ fund houses. This helps clients diversify their investment needs based on their risk profile, sub-asset class preference and geographical inclination.

Alongside, we also bring a curated list of money managers through our fund select and strategy-based bundle portfolio solutions to help clients maximise their returns aligned with market opportunities.

The year 2022 has been a challenging year for almost all asset classes driven by geopolitics and the energy crisis. We have been very selective in terms of onboarding new strategies this year and preferred onboarding un-correlated asset classes over traditional equity and fixed income. The notable categories included senior floating-rate loans, global infrastructure equity, US life settlement, a long-only quant-driven multi-asset strategy and a hedge fund with a large exposure to global inflation-linked bonds.

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What gaps are you looking to close in 2023? Are any of your products at risk of being removed? If so, in which area?

The alternatives landscape is rapidly evolving. We would focus on market-neutral strategies and return-seeking hedge funds as a complement to traditional equity, or crossover strategies that can span the public/private and traditional/alternative spectrums.

Alongside that, private equity is a dynamic and evolving space and we have seen a willingness to deploy capital into niche and thematic strategies. With that as a backdrop, we may look at PE funds that invest in private companies demonstrating a tested business model, greater traction in the marketplace and more attractive growth rates.

While we understand, the nature of the market is dynamic and it will have its swings, be it in terms of returns or let us say even volatility. We have seen drawdowns in the past dating back to 1930. What is worth noting is that each downturn has been followed by an eventual upswing. Timing the market is a futile exercise; no one has ever mastered it. The key has to buy undervalued assets and hold them until the market gains bullish momentum. Having said that, we typically onboard funds from a long-term perspective, and we do not envisage a laundry list of products at risk of missing good opportunities.

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Which sectors have been most popular with your clients this year?

In terms of flows, we have seen fresh money coming into the mixed allocation global funds – moderate category followed by income-generating fixed income products.

The Mena region also caught some frenzy from investors on the account of the resiliency that the region witnessed owing to higher oil prices and GCC’s richness in the hydrocarbon and petrochemical industries. Furthermore, a higher-interest-rate environment bodes well for the GCC banks and supports their net interest margins

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Sum up your investment philosophy in a few words.

Have a long-term perspective, do not focus on short-term volatility and always ensure your portfolio is diversified properly.

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From your perspective, what are the most important traits in a manager?

We have engaged with a large number of investment fund managers over the years, and we have seen wide dispersion of personality, style and returns across managers in asset classes.

Every manager has their own personality and style of investment with difficult to comment on what is right and what is wrong. The more we mull this question, it leaves us with the conclusion that the best managers do share some traits in common. We believe expertise, discipline, modesty, trust, availability and continuity are what differentiate them from average money managers.

• Expertise in mastering their own investment strategy.
• Discipline in running an investment fund.
• Modest enough to admit what they don’t know.
• Establish trust with business partners with clear communication.
• Availability in stressful market conditions.
• Continuity in terms of long-term track record in managing the fund.

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What is your biggest concern in the current market situation? 

There are so many moving parts currently but the focus in the market is on the elevated inflation which is causing central banks globally to raise rates and that is leading to recession fears. How prepared are corporates and consumers to deal with these high rates would be the biggest concern as we move into the next year.

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What is your favourite quote?

Have a long-term perspective when investing.

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What is your favourite dessert?

I like a good cheesecake from time to time.