eVestment has opened the doors of its Dubai office. This is the firm's first bureau in the Middle East and will serve as its operations base as the firm grows in the Mena region.

The Middle East and Africa’s growing institutional wealth and the increased globalization of the institutional investment industry are major factors behind eVestment’s decision.

“Technology has created opportunities like never before for institutional investors, investment consultants and managers around the globe to connect and make smart investment decisions,” said eVestment CEO Jim Minnick. “The rise in investable assets in the Middle East and Africa region makes this the perfect time for eVestment to open this office.”

Since Q1 2009, investable institutional assets domiciled in the Middle East and Africa have grown more than 180%, from $196.8bn to $560bn as of Q2 2014, according to eVestment figures.

Sovereign wealth funds have also grown dramatically, and global institutional investor interest in mature, emerging and frontier Middle East and Africa markets has grown as investors look to increase portfolio diversity and returns.

While Dubai and the Middle East are not yet major centers for hedge funds and other alternative investments, Dubai recently eased restrictions on asset managers operating in the Dubai International Financial Center, the country’s financial enterprise zone. This is seen by some experts as a bid to attract more hedge, private equity and other alternative funds to the area.

“The flourishing South African financial market, the upgrade by MSCI of UAE and Qatar indexes to Emerging Markets and Saudi Arabia’s plans to open its stock market to foreign investors will make eVestment’s services even more valuable to investors," said Wissem Souissi who will lead the office as eVestment’s vice president Middle East and Africa region. 

Before joining eVestment, Souissi served as sales manager for the Middle East and the Russian Commonwealth with eFront, a leader in private equity, real estate and alternative investment management solutions. He also has worked with Moody’s Analytics in Southern and Eastern Europe and Africa.