The fund management industry in the Gulf is expanding thanks to rising wealth from the oil-rich states, fast growing economies, regulatory reform and increasing investor appetite for the region (PDF).

In the past 18 months, significant levels of foreign investment have flowed into the stock exchanges of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries as international investors look for insulation from global economic turbulence. The MSCI GCC composite index has risen by 40.5 per cent since the start of 2007, outperforming the MSCI World index by 38.0 per cent and the Emerging Markets Composite by 8.7 per cent.