The $7.5bn asset manager opened its first Mena office in Manama in January, as part of a long-term plan to grow its regional business. “We are planning to upgrade to an investment company and, following the markets and our clients’ needs, we are considering expanding,” Maria-Sofia Kourti, general manager for Notz Stucki’s Bahrain office, told Mena FM.

 

Kourti added that 2011’s geopolitical unrest did not affect the firm’s decision to open an office in to Bahrain, but said that it was following the developments. “Alternatives would have been other countries within the GCC,” she said. “However, it is gratifying to note that the Central Bank of Bahrain has granted a licence to more than 400 mutual funds around the region, and they seem to have the highest funds registered under them. That gave us more confidence.”