UAE’s First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has unveiled MENA Securities Services for Asset Managers (MENASSA), a post-trade platform for MENA-based asset managers.
MENASSA incorporates a suite of world-class modular services delivered from a single platform, including global custody, fund accounting, transfer agency, performance & risk measurement and middle office services.
FAB said the services are fully integrated with its Capital Markets and Investment Banking capabilities.
“FAB’s mission aligns with the government’s vision to establish the UAE as a global finance hub and gateway to regional trade. The launch of MENASSA will enable FAB to provide an innovative, full-service, all-encompassing platform enriched with invaluable regional expertise tailored to support asset managers, as the region’s investment sector evolves,” said Martin Tricaud, FAB’s Group Head of Investment Banking.
MENASSA demonstrates FAB’s deployment of innovation and technology to enhance the operating framework for asset and wealth managers in the region, empowering them with world-class services, and helping them develop scale and deliver better client solutions.
FAB’s new platform is designed to navigate global regulatory complexities that impact investment flows. With MENASSA, the bank focuses on the region-specific requirements of the growing asset and wealth management sectors.
What sets MENASSA apart is the component products it offers, supported by client service and fund regulatory experts based in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.
“The MENA region has increasingly become a hub for asset and wealth management as governments introduce more robust regulatory frameworks and initiatives to encourage the establishment of local investment companies. This has meant that not only more of the region’s wealth is retained within the region, but it is also attracting significant foreign wealth inflows,” said Kashif Darr, Head of Securities Services at FAB.
Markets in the Middle East are expected to outpace the North American, Asia-Pacific and European regions in assets under management (AUM) growth, despite regional regulatory complexities, as assets and wealth management (AWM) organisations seek new markets, according to PwC’s 2023 Global Asset and Wealth Management survey and 2027 projections.
PwC forecasts global AuM to reach a base case of $147 trillion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5%.
