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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  Ajeej Capital: Investing in Emerging Markets

  Luis M. Viceira and Eren Kuzucu

  In October 2007, Tarek Sakka and Fouad Dajani launched Ajeej Capital, the first independent investment advisory in the MENA region. Fittingly named ajeej, an Arabic word that translates to “growth and propagation in a chaotic setting,” the firm’s AUM grew from $20 million to $1 billion before its 10th anniversary despite a deep-cutting global financial crisis, market turmoil driven by the Arab Spring, and years of weak oil prices. Leveraging deep local knowledge, strong relations in the region, and a “PE investment approach in public equity markets,” Ajeej had outperformed its benchmark regional stock indices and attracted investing capital from large institutional investors around the world.
  
  The case follows the investment methodology of Ajeej Capital’s investment fund, the Ajeej MENA Fund, through the turmoil of Ajeej’s first decade. The case then focuses in on September 2016, with Sakka and Dajani facing a historic hurdle: Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region, had just announced their first ever public-sector pay cuts, triggered by the Vision 2030 agenda. Ajeej, with 50% of its portfolio invested in Saudi companies, had to decide how to position its investment portfolio to successfully navigate a period of structural change in the region.

  Keywords: Security Selection; Investments; Growth; culture; UAE; Finance; Asset Management; Emerging Markets; Capital Markets; Investment; Growth Management; Risk Management; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Dubai; United Arab Emirates; Egypt; North Africa;

  Citation:

  Viceira, Luis M., and Eren Kuzucu. "Ajeej Capital: Investing in Emerging Markets." Harvard Business School Case 219-029, January 2019.  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018

  Emil Nuwan Siriwardane and Luis M. Viceira

  Citation:

  Siriwardane, Emil Nuwan, and Luis M. Viceira. "Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 219-092, January 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018

  Emil Nuwan Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira and Shawn O'Brien

  In early 2018, Blackstone announced that John McCormick would succeed Tom Hill as President and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management (BAAM), the largest fund-of-hedge funds in the world by a sizeable margin. As new CEO, McCormick must decide on strategic growth options for the firm as its traditional FOF business is maturing and growth in its nearly $80 billion in assets under management (AUM) is plateauing. In the recent past, BAAM had expanded into other investing businesses, making direct investments, seeding early-stage hedge funds, taking general partner stakes in investment management firms, and offering alternative investment products to retail investors. To determine the appropriate path forward, McCormick must assess whether BAAM has a competitive edge in each of these platforms, as well as if further expansion could create internal conflicts of interest within BAAM and, more broadly, Blackstone.

  Keywords: Asset Management; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Services Industry;

  Citation:

  Siriwardane, Emil Nuwan, Luis M. Viceira, and Shawn O'Brien. "Blackstone Alternative Asset Management in 2018." Harvard Business School Case 219-063, January 2019.  View Details

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