Gulf Bank holds WISE investment forum – Dr Josh Lerner discusses passive investing
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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 12: Gulf Bank was pleased to hold a private dinner forum for its Priority and Wealth clients entitled ‘Making WISE Investments for the Long-term’ with leading investment expert and Harvard Business School professor, Dr Josh Lerner. The event took place at the Sheraton Hotel, on Monday, Nov 27, and shed light on Gulf Bank’s WISE Investments product — Kuwait’s first digital and advisory portfolio management service.
The evening began with opening remarks from Omar Kutyaba Alghanim, Chairman of Gulf Bank. Alghanim said: “When we came up with this product, we wanted to introduce our customers to a world-class investment experience. Products like WISE often outperform in the long-term when compared to the traditional, more expensive, managed funds. Gulf Bank values its customers and is always looking for products and services that really resonate with our consumers. We asked our customers what they wanted from an investment product and WISE is the result. We’re proud to be the first bank in Kuwait to offer this type of product and we’re really excited to have it.”
Commenting on WISE, Meshari Shehab, Assistant General Manager of Priority and Wealth Management at Gulf Bank, said: “The launch of WISE Investments is part of Gulf Bank’s commitment to delivering world class products and services to our clients. WISE enables our Priority and Wealth clients to safely invest in global markets in an easy, transparent, and cost-efficient way through their trusted banking partner and with the expert guidance of their dedicated relationship manager.”
Dr Josh Lerner, keynote speaker, highlighted the importance of a sound investment strategy and explored how ‘patient investing’ ultimately benefits the investor. Dr Lerner explained the difference between passive and active investing strategies, noting the recent trend towards passive investing, as investors seek funds with lower fees and more predictable outcomes.
With regard to the concept of ‘patient investing’, Dr Lerner noted its increasing popularity as investors realize that investment strategies require time to come to fruition, short-term market gyrations obscure the general gains in the market and very few funds do well all the time.
Following his remarks, Dr Lerner joined Tareq Al-Saleh, Assistant General Manager for Investments at Gulf Bank; Saud Al Zaid, Assistant General Manager of Treasury at Gulf Bank; and M.R. Raghu, Head of Research at Kuwait Financial Center — Markaz, for a panel discussion and question/answer session.
Al-Saleh said: “WISE Investments follow the Nobel Prize winning strategy of passive index investing. The main principle of this investment strategy is that it is impossible to consistently beat the market in the long run. The best risk adjusted returns are created by investing with a long term view in a globally diversified portfolio. WISE is based on historic performance across our variety of portfolios to enhance the opportunity for investment returns for customers, with a focus on exchange-traded funds (ETF) from trustworthy providers that have a low cost of ownership, are US Dollar dominated, distribute dividends, are tax efficient and have sufficient liquidity, along with an established track record.”
Al-Saleh concluded: “This product offering comes after much research into the needs of our clients and into global markets. We thank our clients and Dr Lerner for a thought-provoking evening. We look forward to helping our clients make WISE investments.”
To learn more about WISE Investments, please see the Gulf Bank’s website at: www.e-gulfbank.com or www.gulfbankwise.com, or call the Customer Contact Center at 1805805, or visit one of Gulf Bank’s 56 branches.
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