Distribution
To get its funds to market, Emirates NBD AM uses three strategies; two intermediary channels and one direct.
“By virtue of being associated with a bank we have a captive audience to a degree. Our funds are put on the platforms of Emirates NBD’s retail and private banking channels like everyone else’s.
“It’s more of an intermediary relationship where we can talk to them and update them on our products. We are, by no means, the exclusive provider on their platforms.”
The second intermediary channel is IFAs. “We go out to the largest IFAs in the market and put our products on the life platforms, which then get sold through those IFA networks,” Bajwa explained.
“The third channel is our own direct clients, of which around 90% would fall into the institution bucket. These would be the large insurance companies and corporates around the region. We also have a small portion of high net worths and ultra-high net worths who are directly on boarded with us.”
Regulation
Bajwa welcomes the vast amount of regulatory change coming out of the UAE at the moment, describing it as a “very hot topic”.
“These things are all part and parcel of the evolution of markets.”
He explained: “Looking at the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), all they are saying is that only funds and products registered with them should be marketed. You can’t argue against that.
“The whole rationale behind it is that nobody should be marketing something that is sub-optimal,” he said.
“Plus, only qualified people should be selling the SCA registered products. Companies need to make sure they don’t have anyone out there selling these complex products or giving investment advice without the right qualification.
“The latest one that has come out of the Central Bank where they have said they are particularly concerned about the number of complaints that have arisen out of sales of certain products, particularly with regard to the fees embedded in them.
“Once again, you can’t argue with that. Each one of those things makes perfect sense,” Bajwa said.
“All of those are very sensible changes and they are exactly what happened in the UK and other developed markets years ago. That’s just part and parcel of markets maturing.”
Future moves
“We are at a very interesting point in our evolution,” Bajwa told IA. “We’ve had phenomenal success and we’ve been blessed in terms of how quickly we have managed it. So, we have to take stock a little bit and think about where we go from here.
“Looking ahead, we will definitely look to expand our international reach over the next three to five years both in terms of products and selling to international clients outside the region.”
