MANAMA: Nearly half or 47% of investors expect equities in the global market to have the highest total return in 2015, compared to bonds, cash, commodities, precious metals and real estate, according to the findings of the CFA survey.
Nearly one-third (31%) of investors expect equities in local Middle East markets to have the highest total return this year while one-quarter (26%) of respondents expect real estate to have the highest total return.
CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, has launched the results of its fifth annual Middle East Market Sentiment Survey, which provides insights from CFA charter holders and CFA Institute members from across the Middle East region.
The survey results were unveiled at a press conference today ahead of the CFA Institute Middle East Investment Conference (MEIC), which is being held for the first time in Kuwait on 10th February 2015 under the patronage of His Excellency Anas K. Al-Saleh, Minister of Finance, State of Kuwait.
“For the fifth consecutive year, the Middle East Market Sentiment Survey provides useful insights into the expectations of some of the most senior finance and investment professionals working in the region. Interestingly, opinions related to public disclosures are a major theme in this year’s survey results. Given its importance in analysing listed companies, the majority of investment professionals in the region (68%) believe that both governments and corporations should increase efforts to create extensive systems for collecting data and disclosing information in order to help investors make informed investment decisions,” Nitin Mehta, CFA, Managing Director of CFA Institute in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said.
“Although some expectations are consistent across the wider Middle East region, there was also some variance among respondents in different countries. The majority of respondents from the GCC (46%) consider infrastructure and government investment programs to be the most attractive attribute for Middle East investments, followed by 25% of respondents from the GCC who consider access to natural resources to be the most attractive attribute for Middle East investments. By comparison, many respondents from Middle East countries outside of the GCC (41%) cite access to natural resources as the most attractive attribute.”