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Inform strategy with evidence: Use independent data on market confidence, growth, and client need to guide your strategic direction. Confirm financial investment plans: Ensure resource allotment and efforts are backed by trustworthy market insight. Accelerate confident choices: Gear up members of your executive group with clear, actionable insight to reach arrangement rapidly and take definitive action.
Capital is tighter. And the quality of boardroom judgment will increasingly identify which organisations sustain growth and which fall behind. In response, Climb Club, a visibility launchpad curating access and opportunities for board- and C-level ladies, in partnership with BusinessDay, is introducing a brand-new monthly conference room dialogue convening accomplished African female executives who actively serve at the greatest levels of governance and business management and who are members of Ascent Club.
This inaugural session unites board professionals to examine the genuine pressures forming board programs today: INSIDE THE CONFERENCE ROOM: The Strategic Dangers and Top Priorities Forming 2026 Financial discipline in constrained markets Evolving regulative and governance expectations Innovation disruption and cyber resilience Long-lasting value production and sustainability imperatives Leadership decisions boards should prioritise heading into 2026 Climb members and speakers consist of: Mediator Nnoli Akpedeye MD/CEO, Contego Servo Limited Speakers Sarah Ajose-Adeogun Managing Partner, Teasoo Consulting Ochanya R.
Deborah David CFO, Powergas It is an assembling of executives contributing directly to governance, risk oversight, and tactical direction within their organisations. Through this partnership, Ascent Club and BusinessDay are purposefully developing a repeating online forum that surfaces board-level insight, enhances trustworthy female governance voices, and expands access to the strategic thinking emerging from Africa's conference rooms.
4 March 2026 6:00 PM WAT Zoom Register to sign up with the conversation. #InsideTheBoardroom #ExecutiveLeadership Registration Link: . Get the current insights, patterns, and strategies provided directly to your inbox. Sign up with Everest Group's newsletter to remain at the forefront of what's next.
Overall assets held broadly consistent over the quarter, while trading levels pointed to continued repositioning and as a response to geopolitical news rather than a meaningful new capital implementation. Global macro conditions set a challenging backdrop.
The GCC ETF universe comprised 39 ETFs with a total AUM of $9.35 billion (since Q1 2026). Performance across the market was broadly unfavorable, with just 13 ETFs delivering favorable returns compared to 26 in decrease. Overall, the data reflects a market that is active however narrow, with capital and liquidity focused in a small subset of products.
Performance in Q1 2026 was driven by a narrow group of distinctive winners, instead of broad market strength. The leading ETFs were focused in specific country direct exposures and products, particularly Turkey, Saudi petrochemicals, gold, and Egypt. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt were resistant throughout the quarter. Saudi Arabia's oil exposure supported its local market, with Aramco reaching new highs amid higher oil rates, as well as its continued ability to export oil through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which remains open.
Egypt delivered strong performance in January and February. In spite of a market pullback in March due to the war, both Egypt's market and its ETFs still published favorable returns for the quarter. The ongoing Middle East conflict and resulting energy shock have actually improved the outlook for emerging market equities between the oil-haves and the oil-have-nots.
The sector likewise faced wider macro headwinds, including a more cautious policy background in China and international risk-off belief driven by geopolitical stress and higher energy costs. Thematic ETFs Struggled for the many part, particularly those connected to carbon and high-growth innovation, as evaluation pressures and global rate dynamics weighed on performance.
The petrochemical ETF substantially exceeded. Flows in Q1 2026 were modest and extremely concentrated, showing selective allotment instead of broad market participation. Regardless of weak performance, ETFs recorded $27.1 million in net inflows, with just a little number of items bring in new capital. This indicates that financiers were targeting specific exposures, while minimizing or rotating out of others.
Trading activity stayed stable, with average 30-day volumes around 33,000 shares, concentrated in a handful of larger and more liquid ETFs. Many activity appears to have actually taken place in the secondary market, enabling financiers to change positions without substantial main creations or redemptions.
In January, Boreas launched its S&P Global Luxury UCITS ETF, including a niche thematic exposure concentrated on worldwide luxury and consumer brand names. Momentum continued into April with the approval of KraneShares AGIX and KWIN ETFs by the CMA for cross-listing on ADX. These funds are anticipated to launch in April pending a final approval from ADX.
Q1 2026 revealed some progress relating to ETFs in the GCC. We expect more international and thematic ETFs to list in the GCC during 2026. While the conflict has actually impacted sentiment and costs during the quarter, it has actually driven more volume and interest in regional assets.
In spite of ongoing geopolitical stress and security threats throughout the Middle East, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have continued to show resilience, maintaining favorable development momentum recently. While disputes in the wider area and global financial uncertainty stay a structural restriction, GCC countries have actually up until now limited their influence on domestic financial performance through strong financial positions, policy connection, and sustained financial investment.
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