Members of US Congress might not like the idea of an Arab country controlling operations in the nation's ports - as the recent imbroglio over the Dubai company's contract with the US government has demonstrated. But American money managers are quite eager to take Middle Eastern money.

Mario Gabelli, longtime value manager, has become the latest to step up to the plate, this month launching a shariah-compliant hedge fund - the Gabelli Shariah Merger-Arbitrage Fund - which will invest according to Islamic principles.