Gulf Investment Fund – On the gulf of a new economy

The team behind the Gulf Investment Fund (GIF) has negotiated the turbulent markets of 2022 to deliver significant outperformance of both GIF’s peers and its benchmark. In particular, in recent trading activity, it has eschewed some of the more highly-valued regions, and the globally exposed petrochemical sector (as at 31 December 2022, GIF had no direct exposure and limited indirect exposure), in favour of more-cheaply-valued opportunities focused on the domestic economies of the Gulf. This includes a substantial investment into local companies in Saudi Arabia. GIF continues to offer significant diversification benefits for global portfolios, thanks to the Gulf’s idiosyncratic markets.

With this marked NAV outperformance has come a positive re-rating of GIF’s share price and a narrowing of its discount to NAV. GIF has traded at asset value on average over the last 12 months, and is currently trading on a 4.9% discount. It also has an enhanced dividend policy targeting a total annual dividend equivalent to 4% of the preceding year’s NAV.