SICO Gulf Equity Fund
The SICO Gulf Equity Fund has a mandate to invest in all GCC equity markets excluding Saudi Arabia, giving investors direct access to the region. The fund adopts a bottom-up approach focused on stock picking to achieve long-term capital appreciation and seeks out investment opportunities instead of following a passive, index weighted approach.
Fund Proposition
SICO Gulf Equity Fund (SGEF) provides an opportunity for
investors to benefit from the growing GCC region outside
Saudi Arabia.
Investment Objective
The primary objective of the Fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing principally in equity securities listed on the stock markets of United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt.
However, from time to time the Fund may invest in equity-related, hybrid and debt instruments originating from above-mentioned countries.
Investment Strategy
Since its inception SGEF has been one of the top performing funds in the region. Key to the Fund’s performance has been its investment philosophy.
SGEF adopts a bottom-up investment approach which is backed by a research-intensive investment process. The Fund invests in companies that the Investment Team believes are fundamentally undervalued, and have a sufficient margin of safety in order to limit the downside risk of the investment.
Investment Process
The investment process is underpinned by fundamental research which is spearheaded by an in-house team of analysts. As bottom-up stock pickers, the Investment Team primarily focuses its efforts on understanding the fundamentals of the business, assessing the quality of management, and evaluating the downside risk to investment.
Risk Management
A dedicated risk management team closely monitors the performance of the Fund to ensure adherence to internal and external guidelines.
The Fund is also regularly reviewed by the Asset Management Committee which is comprises senior management of SICO BSC(c). The Committee meets regularly to confirm that the Investment Manager adheres to the risk return parameters of the Fund
SGEF is audited annually by external auditors and is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Subscription
Subscription to the Fund is carried out on a weekly basis. A completed Subscription Agreement should be submitted at least two business days prior to such subscription date. Units are offered on each Subscription Day at the Net Asset Value (NAV) per unit plus a subscription fee of up to 2% as calculated on the relevant Valuation Day, provided that the minimum initial subscription is USD 100,000.
Redemption
Units of SGEF can be redeemed on a weekly basis, provided that the Redemption Request Form is received at least two business days prior to the relevant Redemption Day.
Dividend Policy
It is the intention of the Fund Company to declare and distribute dividends to Unit holders on an annual basis. The decision to declare dividends is at the sole discretion of the Directors of the Fund, and is subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
Fees and Expenses
The Fund’s Units are subject to the following fees and expenses:
- Subscription Fee: A subscription fee of up to 2% is charged to investors upon subscribing to Units of the Fund.
- Management Fee: The Investment Manager receives a fixed management fee of 1.5% per annum.
- Performance Fee: The Investment Manager is entitled to a performance fee of 10% of returns over and above the hurdle total rate of return of 10%, subject to high watermark.
- Administration Fee: The Administrator is entitled to a maximum fee of 0.25% per annum, subject to a minimum.
- Custody Fee: The Custodian is entitled to a maximum fee of 0.30% per annum, subject to a minimum.
Reporting
The Investment Manager publishes a monthly report
detailing the Net Asset Value, asset allocation, key statistics,
sectoral breakdown, and top holdings of the Fund.
In addition, the audited financial statements are available
on an annual basis upon request.
Potential Risk Factors
Investment in the Fund carries significant risk and should be regarded as long term in nature, and only suitable for investors who understand the risks involved, and who are able to withstand the loss of all or part of their invested capital.
The value of an investment in the Fund may decrease as well as increase, and there is no assurance that the Fund will be profitable or that investors in the Fund will recover any of their invested amounts. Please refer to the section “Risk Factors” in the Information Memorandum for more details.
Contact Details
For further information, please contact:
Marketing:
Telephone: +973 1751 5000
Email: assetmanagement@sicobank.com
Fax: +973 1751 4000
Postal address:
SICO
PO Box 1331
Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain