Bahrain-based regional investment bank Securities and Investment Company (SICO) said all five of its equity funds received the highest grading in the Mena region from Standard & Poor's Capital IQ.

In its 12-month review covering the period to December 31, S&P Capital IQ graded three of SICO funds Gold, while two were graded Silver.

According to S&P Capital IQ, the underlying factors for SICO's fund grading included a strong and growing investment team with relatively modest staff turnover, the development of disciplined risk monitoring procedures compared with its peers and a consistent track record and continuing outperformance of funds relative to their benchmarks and peers.

Putting SICO's performance into context, of the 150 or so funds investing in the Mena region, only 18 achieved S&P Capital IQ gradings in 2012, with only three securing a Gold grading and fifteen achieving Silver status.

Of these funds, the only three that achieved a Gold grading are all managed by SICO.

The Khaleej Equity Fund, which invests in GCC listed equities, achieved a return of 5.9 per cent for the year, and has outperformed its benchmark for seven out of eight years since its March 2004 inception.

It is one of the few funds in the region to be awarded a Gold fund grading and a five-year long-term grading by Standard & Poor's Capital IQ.

The fund also received the Outstanding Fund Performance & Innovation award at the fourth annual MENA Fund Manager Performance Awards ceremony in January.

The SICO Gulf Equity Fund, which invests in GCC-listed equities, excluding Saudi Arabia, delivered a return of 6.1 per cent for the year.

The fund, which is graded Gold, has outperformed its benchmark in five of six full calendar years since its March 2006 launch.

The SICO Arab Financial Fund, which invests primarily in Mena financial sector equities, achieved a return of 2.9 per cent in 2012.

Graded Gold, the fund's relative returns have been consistently strong, outperforming the benchmark in each calendar since its inception in August 2007.

The SICO Selected Securities Fund, which invests principally in Bahrain-listed equity and debt securities, achieved a return of 1.2 per cent for the year.

Graded Silver the fund has one of the longest track records in its asset class, and has outperformed its benchmark in 11 out of 13 years since its May 1998 inception.

The SICO Kingdom Equity Fund, which invests primarily in Saudi-listed equities, delivered a return of 8.7 per cent for 2012. The fund has been graded Silver and has posted an initial strong performance relative to its benchmark since its launch in February 2011.

In addition to these equity funds, the SICO Money Market Fund recorded an annualised return of 0.99 per cent in 2012.

Launched in May 2010, the fund invests in regional investment grade money market instruments such as GCC government bills and notes, corporate paper, and domestic banks' term deposits.

"SICO's prudent investment style has enabled us to deliver another strong performance for our clients in 2012, despite markets remaining volatile during the year," said SICO chief executive Anthony Mallis.

"The combination of our regional insight and quality of research is a key factor in enabling SICO to provide consistent and stable long-term returns to our investors," he added.-TradeArabia News Service