Female investors control $40bn of Gulf wealth
Dubai, November 8, 2009
The female investors in the Gulf hold $40 billion of the region's wealth, according to Reuters, having traded more than 18 million stocks last year.
At present, the market is witnessing the emergence of a specific type of female financial investors – the traditional holder of inherited capital – whose quest for financial sophistication is motivating them to use their wealth and take control of their finances, said an expert.
"We are seeing a growing number of Gulf ‘traderettes', who are a new breed of female traders seeking high-level investments to help them pave a legitimate path to increasing their portfolios,” said Amani Choudhry, CEO, Mayfair Wealth Management, one of the leading offshore financial and investment advisory services providers based in the Cayman Islands.
In line with its commitment to empowering women from the region towards achieving financial independence, Choudhry said, MWM is offering investment advice on Shariah compliant products, appropriate investment vehicles and investment strategies through ‘Ameerah’, the first truly bespoke wealth management service targeting female investors in the Middle East.
Backed by a world class team of professionals with extensive knowledge in Global markets, ‘Ameerah’ is being offered to meet the specific requirements of women clients.
"By helping these women invest their assets wisely and cultivating the potential of this new market, we aim to support the growth of the real estate and financial sectors in the region," she observed.
In addition, ‘Ameerah’ assists clients with administrative issues such as setting up an International bank account, offshore company formation and trust structuring, dealing with international lawyers, and arranging yacht leasing and finance, she noted.
“With the burgeoning number of female investors controlling a significant percentage of the region’s wealth, we are focusing on addressing their needs by offering them a range of core advisory services, as well as a wide range of global products from different asset classes including bonds, equities, FX and real estate,” Choudhry added.
With programs that are designed to allow investors to ‘hedge’ cash with investing in hard assets such as shares, commodities, bonds, properties, currencies in developed and emerging markets, ‘Ameerah’ gives female investors an opportunity to achieve strong capital gains while protecting them from currency devaluation and inflation.
It also allows clients to manage their own portfolios via an extensive range of Shariah-compliant services, including development of Islamic products and services, financial analysis and modelling, and Shariah-compliant trade and project financing, among others, some of which are 100 per cent capital guaranteed.
"At present we are receiving an astounding amount of interest from many women investors based in the region, and we are anticipating this to heighten as they acclimatise themselves further with various investment markets. We are confident that it will not be long before we see more women boasting of sizeable investments that they have managed in the region," Choudhry added.-TradeArabia News Service