Azimut Group, one of Europe’s leading independent asset manager, has signed an agreement with independent alternative asset management group Rasmala to acquire 100 per cent of its Egyptian subsidiary.

Rasmala Egypt, founded in 1997, specialises in conventional and shariah compliant portfolio management in Egypt with AUM (asset under management) of E£8.46 billion ($474 million) as of November 2018, with a strong expertise in equity strategies (85 per cent of total AUM).

Following the successful takeover, Rasmala Egypt will be renamed Azimut Egypt Asset Management, said a statement from the top European asset manager.

The company has a high quality team of portfolio managers and analysts, headed by Ahmed Abou El Saad out of Cairo, with 10 investment professionals managing a range of strategies embedded in public funds and mandates for local sovereign institutions, international sovereign wealth funds, pension plans, public banks and HNWI, said a statement from Azimut.

The team’s track record includes periods of extended instability and volatility for local markets with an overall 624 per cent accumulated returns over the period 2005-June 2018 in local currency, well above 537 per cent for EGX 30 and 324 per cent on average for local funds.

As of 2017 the Arab Bank Corporation Equity Fund, managed by Rasmala Egypt, ranked first for 3, 5 and 6 years performance, it stated.

Egypt is the largest economy in Northern Africa with a 95 million population and a GDP-PPP adjusted of $ 1.1 trillion as of 2017 (21st largest in the world).

Following the flotation of its currency in 2016, Egypt has embarked on a significant home-grown economic reform program supported by IMF and some neighbouring countries to rebalance its economy and set the fundamentals for one of the most attractive growth stories in the region and across global emerging markets, it added.

Giorgio Medda, the head of Mena and Turkey at Azimut (DIFC) Limited, said: "The investment in Egypt confirms our commitment in expanding our Mena and Turkey regional footprint which will see Azimut as the first global asset manager with investment teams on the ground in Dubai, Cairo and Istanbul with an oversight on markets which we expect to attract significant interest from global investors."

"This investment will also enable Azimut to capitalize on its integrated financial advisory model in a sizeable retail market carrying exciting prospects in the medium term. It marks the first move of the Group in Africa, a vast region offering unique untapped opportunities for product management and distribution expansion," he added.-TradeArabia News Service