The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted higher GDP growth for both countries than the broader developed markets. While currently both markets lean heavily toward financials, industrials and energy, further expansion is expected to help them diversify into other sectors such as transportation, real estate and construction, and hospitality, said iShares in a statement.
“The launches of the iShares MSCI Qatar Capped ETF and iShares MSCI UAE Capped ETF meet an immediate need of investors awaiting the countries’ upgrade to emerging markets. Pensions, foundations and endowments, who in particular have the most global-oriented portfolios, have reasonably sized allocation levels in broad emerging markets with over- and under-weights in single country emerging markets. By iShares launching the new funds now, investors are equipped to make adjustments to their emerging markets portfolios to strategically or tactically diversify their portfolios,” said iShares Global Markets and Investments head Patrick Dunne in the statement.
Stocks in listed in Qatar and UAE have been among the world’s best performers since the start of 2013. Over the past year, Dubai’s Financial General Market Index has more than doubled while the Abu Dhabi Securities Market General Index is higher by 55%. Qatar’s benchmark QE Index (DSM) is up 35% in the past year. [Investors Flocking to Qatar, UAE Stocks]
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.