27 Oct 2015

Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, hosted a gathering of Chief Executive Officers and Chief Investment Officers of prominent Omani institutions to discuss global investment issues. Discussions centred on asset allocation, manager selection and security selection, and how each of these factors can play a part in achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns. The event was held at Al Angham restaurant in Muscat.

During the event, Investcorp Co-CEO Mohammed Al-Shroogi highlighted the importance of investment diversification, saying, “In order to achieve attractive and stable returns in the current economic climate, investors need to diversify their holdings – geographically and by asset class. Based upon our long history of international private equity and real estate investments, allocating a portion of your portfolio to international markets is an effective way of getting exposure to mature markets and, when looking at the US, to a strong and pegged currency.”

Harsh Shethia, Managing Director at Investcorp for Oman, talked through asset allocation, manager selection and security selection, saying, “Diversification should be at the asset class level rather than manager level. Currently, there is a misunderstanding in the markets, where investors see diversification being achieved by giving smaller mandates to many managers, rather than by looking across the full spectrum of asset classes.”