Ajeej MENA Fund

Launched in 2007, the Ajeej MENA Fund (“AMF”) is the region's oldest public equity fund managed by an independent asset manager.

The aim of the fund was to build an institutional offering that would attract the most sophisticated capital allocators to invest in Middle East public equities. This was an unconventional approach at the time, as our region is often viewed as a source of capital rather than an investment target; however, the founders, Fouad and Tarek, saw things differently and set out to build Ajeej Capital anchored by the flagship Ajeej MENA Fund.

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The AMF follows a fundamentally driven, bottom-up focused investment methodology. The strategy is benchmark agnostic and does not adhere to strategic asset allocations from either sector or country perspectives. This enables the fund to capitalize on long-term alpha-generating opportunities, focusing on intrinsic values and the paths to realizing that value.

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Although we prefer not to use siloed definitions to define our funds and style, the AMF most closely resembles a Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) model, targeting long-term capital growth through dislocated pricing.

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The AMF’s portfolio is typically comprised of 25–30 names, with the top 5 positions accounting for approximately 30% to 50% of the portfolio. The fund does not employ a geographic strategic asset allocation; rather, it derives its country allocations from bottom-up convictions, with the macro view limiting country exposure from a risk management perspective.

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Although we are agnostic in the origination of investment ideas, country, industry, and liquidity have parameterized limits which act as constraints for bottom-up construction.

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Finally, the AMF has evolved stylistically to benefit from a "light activist" touch. This came about organically over time; as we built our reputation and relationships across the region, we have increasingly received requests from senior management teams (ranging from public listed companies to regulators and stock market operators) for our views and advice on various matters, which we happily provide.

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