Emirates NBD Asset Management Limited, the asset management arm of Emirates NBD, today announced the expansion of its partnership with Jupiter Asset Management, one of the UKs leading fund groups.

Jupiter has been appointed delegate investment advisor for the AED70 million Emirates Emerging Market Equity Fund, bringing its total assets under management (AuM) for Emirates NBD AM to AED 570 million. The Emirates Emerging Market Equity Fund is an open-ended investment company domiciled in Jersey, Channel Islands.

The announcement marks the completion of a one year successful partnership between the two firms, with Jupiter appointed last year as delegate investment advisor for Emirates NBD AMs conventional multi-asset class global fund range. Jupiters multi-manager team currently manages funds such as the Emirates Active Managed Fund, Emirates Balanced Managed Fund and Emirates Global Quarterly Income Fund, and with this recent announcement, the partnership has witnessed a 50per cent growth in AuM over the last twelve months.

The collaboration will strengthen Emirates NBD AMs global offering by providing diversification outside MENA markets and complements the firms in-house managed expertise. Jupiters emerging markets team currently manage a combined total AuM of USD 1.02 billion. The firm is currently the seventh largest fund manager of United Kingdom retail mutual funds with a total USD 52.9 billion in assets as at 30 June 2014.

Commenting on the expanded partnership, David Marshall, Senior Executive Officer of Emirates NBD Asset Management stated, Emirates NBD Asset Managements relationship with Jupiter has enhanced our value proposition to clients, enabling us to leverage on Jupiters global expertise to match our in-house research-centered approach to fund management.

The tie-up also provides us access to new markets, in line with our growth strategy. 2014 has been a year of robust growth, and we anticipate our renewed partnership with Jupiter to further reinforce our current leadership position in the region, added Marshall.

Kevin Scott, Head of EMEA, Jupiter Asset Management said: We are delighted to have built such a close and constructive working relationship, over the past year, with Emirates NBD, one of the regions leading providers of financial services.

To have been awarded a global emerging markets mandate in addition to the multi-asset range we manage on Emirates NBD Asset Managements behalf, is a significant opportunity for us to further deepen this tie-up. From a strategic perspective, this is a very important part of the world to develop Jupiters profile as there is such great potential in the Middle East.

Emirates NBD Asset Management, regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), is a leading asset manager in the Middle East region, and manages a range of products including MENA equity and fixed income funds and portfolios, UAE real estate, global risk profiled funds and a complete range of Sharia compliant instruments.

The firm recently won prestigious recognition by Global Investor/ ISF including CEO of the Year and Fixed Income Manager of the year Other recent awards include: Best Investment Management Company 2014, UAE at the World Finance Investment Management Awards 2014 in London, as well as Best Regional Fund Manager at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards. The firm also received a number of regional awards at the MENA Fund Manager Performance Awards 2014, including: UAE Asset Manager of the Year; MENA Equity Fund of the Year and Balanced Fund of the Year.