MOHAMED KHOULAIDI DOHA THE third CFA Institute Middle East Investment Conference which began on Monday analysed the latest challenges and opportunities facing the global financial industry through the lens of Middle Eastern business. The conference sponsored by Qatar National Bank will discuss various issues including Islamic finance, alternative investments and risks or opportunities for the MENA economies.

The conference is being attended by a range of speakers including some of the world’s most senior financial and investment analysts covering global and regional investment strategies and opportunities.

Henry Azzam, George T. Abed, Michael O’Sullivan, Richard Dallas, Claude B. Erb, Pippa Malmgren, Abdul Rahman al-Najjar, Marc Faber, and Narayan Y. Naik are among the prominent speakers.

Marc Faber, managing director of Marc Faber Limited and editor of “The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report,” kicked off the CFA conference stating that the crucial question over the next decade is not “where will my returns be highest?” but “where will I lose the least money?” In fact, he considers that losses of 50% should be considered as a relative success. According to Faber, “governments have contributed to higher commodity prices, especially oil prices, by slashing interest rates.” In his remarks, Nitin Mehta, CFA Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, said: “There occurred a lot of changes since the last session of our conference in Abu Dhabi in March 2011. Although the region’s economy continues to suffer under global recession and the crisis of European sovereign debt, the Arab Spring came to undermine confidence in markets and contribute to the instability of the financial sector. However, some of the things have not changed.” To coincide with the 2012 Middle East Investment Conference, CFA Institute collaborated with member societies in the Middle East to conduct a survey among members in the region on local and global market issues to raise the profile of members, societies, and CFA Institute prior to the event. An online survey was conducted between February 21-29 2012 in which 130 CFA Institute members from eight countries in the Middle East (Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) were invited to participate. “The survey findings suggest that our core principles of good corporate governance, strong ethics and ongoing professional education are the best way forward. Whether this will happen in 2012 is not clear but essentially the investment community remains optimistic about the future of this region,” Mehta added.

He also pointed out that “a group of outstanding speakers participating in the conference will provide an opportunity to communicate with each other, and listen to the views of some of the brightest figures in the fields of economy and finance in the region and the world, and compare their views with a wide range of issues that affect the Middle East.” It is worth noting that CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry.