International investors reluctant to return to MENA funds

Many fund managers expect downward pressure on markets to continue in the short-term as bad news must be further incorporated into prices, according to Standard & Poor's Fund Services' Annual Review of MENA funds. "The region's much vaunted low correlation with the rest of the world's markets failed to materialise and all the major Middle Eastern markets fell significantly in recent months," says Roberto Demartini, lead analyst at S&P Fund Services. Local exchanges in Dubai and Egypt were down more than 50% in 2008 to October. "The downward pressure largely came from international inves...