Jadwa Investment to Argaam: More than SAR 85 billion in client assets.. and we have launched a new mobile app

Ghannam Suliman Al-Ghannam Head of Private and Institutional Client Investments at Jadwa Investment

Ghannam Suliman Al-Ghannam, Head of Private and Institutional Client Investments at Jadwa Investment, said that Jadwa’s client assets under management (AUA) and advisement (AUA) amounts to more than SAR 85 billion, compared to SAR 79 billion riyals at year end 2023.

He explained in an interview with Argaam that the value of investments and divestments carried out by Jadwa Investment amounted to SAR 27.7 billion during the three years from 2021 to 2023, and that the returns of the company’s KSA, GCC, and MENA funds ranged between 24% and 46% during 2021, outperforming market indices.

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Al-Ghannam spoke about the launch of six new real estate development funds, another private real estate investment fund in the Kingdom to be announced soon, the investment opportunities that the company is currently focusing on, and the development of Jadwa Investment’s mobile app and other digital channels.

As for the details of the interview:

*What was the volume of assets under management and assets under advisory activity at the end of the first quarter of 2024? What is its growth rate compared to the previous year?

- Jadwa is one of the largest asset managers in MENA with consistent investment outperformance and a strong capital base, offering our clients an expanding universe of Shariah-compliant investments. Our clients include government entities, local and international corporates, non-profit organizations, leading family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

The firm currently has more than SAR 85 billion in client assets under management and advisement, compared to SAR 79 billion at year end 2023 and SAR 67 billion at year end 2022.

Our new digital channels will allow us to better serve our existing clients and continue to expand our client base.

*Can you clarify the distribution of managed assets according to Jadwa Investment’s operational sectors?

- Our aim is to offer our clients an unrivalled range of Shariah-compliant investment products and services across asset classes and geographic markets.

We have a track record of more than fifteen years in public markets, including equity, fixed income and money market funds and DPMs. We are one of the most active private equity investors in the region, and have been active in this space for almost as long. We added real estate offerings in 2015, and are today one of the country’s largest managers of real estate funds. We also added private credit as an asset class and expanded our coverage into international markets across asset classes in 2020.

*What is the volume of investment and exit operations carried out by Jadwa during the past three years?

- In 2023, we completed SAR 11.3 billion in investments, divestments, and capital commitments across 18 funds. And in the three years from 2021 to 2023, we completed SAR 27.7 billion in investments and divestments.

In our private equity business, this included the sale of UEMedical to Mubadala Health, the SAR 4.95 billion IPO of Luberef, investing in and exiting from Al Meswak Dental Clinics, investing in the toy e-commerce company Dabdoob, investing in the perfume company Gissah Perfumes, and investing in the restaurants business Blackspoon.

In our real estate business, this included the launch of 22 new local and international funds, including development funds in Saudi Arabia, global multi-manager funds in real assets, and an international real estate fund in the United States.

*What will Jadwa Investment focus on in terms of growth activities during the current year?

- Our regional public equity strategies continue to drive growth and outperform the market. In2023, the returns on our Saudi, GCC, and MENA funds were between 24.18% and 46.42%, all of which outperformed their respective benchmarks by as much as 19.67%.

We have a strong pipeline of new private equity investments in the region across multiple sectors, and especially in the consumer space.

We also see continued growth opportunities in the local real estate sector, driven by the Saudi economy’s strong momentum and Riyadh’s growing demand for residential and commercial space. In just the first quarter of the year, Jadwa launched six new real estate development funds with a combined size of nearly SAR 1.9 billion.

More generally, we will continue to diversify our product offerings across asset classes and geographic markets in response to client needs.

*Are there investment deals that you intend to implement during 2024? What are its details?

- I have mentioned the six new real estate funds that we have already closed this year, and we are in the final stages of introducing another one.

We are also in the final stages of closing a private equity investment in Saudi Arabia, which we plan to announce very soon, insha’Allah.

In addition, we are introducing our first regional blind-pool private equity fund this year. The fund will target a range of high-growth companies in the region, with a special focus on consumer-driven sectors.

*You recently made advanced updates to Jadwa’s technical platform. Tell us about the most prominent of these developments and their importance to your clients?

- Following the launch of our new corporate website and web portal, we recently launched the Jadwa Investment app.

Using the new mobile app, clients can access a comprehensive suite of features, allowing them to manage their investments effortlessly through their mobile phones. These features include reviewing their investments and downloading their account statements online, subscribing to (and redeeming from) Jadwa’s investment funds, transferring money across accounts and trading on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) in real time.

The mobile app is merely another step in offering our clients a seamless digital interface and service platform. While our dedicated relationship managers will continue to provide personalized client service, the introduction of our mobile app gives our clients immediate access to their own investments at any time.