BJM woos investment funds at Dubai conference

Barnard Jacobs Mellet (BJM), a top rated investment research house and leading securities trader in South Africa, is on a quest to woo the Gulf region’s sovereign wealth funds as greater international investment inflows become increasingly vital to national economic performance.

BJM will be participating in the Dubai conference and exhibition, Hedge.Funds World Middle East 2008 on March 4-5. The company is ranked top for unweighted South African equity research and is No. 2 for dealing room executions in this category.

Leading South African, British, European, Australian and American institutions and hedge funds use its Alpha Platform for market-neutral strategic and tactical plays, notably in the resource sector. Since its launch 18 months ago, this research tool for identifying market opportunities has consistently delivered significant returns. The quality of the Alpha Platform’s underlying research is well known in the UK and USA, partly as a result of BJM’s presence in London and Connecticut.

David Lofthouse, a senior sales trader at BJM, noted: “This is our first foray into the Gulf. We have taken exhibition space while briefings on resources and corporate activity in the mining sector will be given by a key member of our team – Mike Bedford, our head resource analyst. We anticipate lively interest as African commodities are closely scrutinised by Arab investors.

“Improving awareness of our research offering in the Gulf is a strategic imperative for BJM, with special focus on the sovereign wealth funds that have their headquarters in this region. Wooing Middle East capital has also become important for South Africa in view of the widening deficit on the country’s trade and current account.”

The good news, according to the BJM investment watchers, is that Gulf-based investment funds are already believed to be targeting Africa and South Africa.

“We think this process can usefully be accelerated as strategic growth opportunities certainly beckon well-informed international players,” Lofthouse added.