Wealth manager Stanhope Capital plans Saudi expansion
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Stanhope Capital, a London-centred wealth manager with $40bn of assets, is expanding into the Gulf in a partnership with a bank owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Stanhope is establishing a 'strategic partnership', rather than a joint-venture structure, with Gulf International Bank (GIB), which does not currently offer wealth management services. Target clients include families with more than $100mn in investable assets and institutional clients such as charities and sovereign wealth fund-linked entities.
Daniel Pinto, Stanhope chief executive, said: 'Many foreign banks and many wealth managers have tried to do it on their own in the region and usually have failed, and we felt that the odds of succeeding were much higher if we had a local partner with local expertise and local access to our target client base.' Daniel Pinto: 'We felt that the odds of succeeding were much higher if we had a local partner with . . . access to our target client base' © Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Pinto said GIB would sign clients within Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Stanhope would sign those in the rest of the world, but they would all be managed by a 'hybrid' team from the two businesses. Stanhope will not establish an office with employees in the region for now but will run its side of the partnership from its offices in London, Geneva and the US.
The PIF has about $940bn of assets under management, according to the latest government data, but the country has struggled to attract foreign investment. Inbound FDI was down 19 per cent year on year to $20.7bn last year, the lowest since 2020.
Authorities have been keen on luring major financial institutions to establish a strong presence in Riyadh as competition intensifies with other business hubs in the Gulf, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The World Wealth Report 2024 from consultancy Capgemini showed the number of 'high net worths' (defined as those with more than $1mn in investable assets) in the Middle East was 0.9mn in 2023, up from 0.6mn in 2016. They had $3.5tn in assets in 2023 compared with $2.4tn in 2016.
'The whole purpose of the partnership' was to foster wealth management expertise within Saudi Arabia, Pinto said, but he also envisaged directing more investment into the country if opportunities arose, for example in infrastructure.
The kingdom has over the past decade launched several so-called gigaprojects as part of a larger plan by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy away from its dependence on oil revenues. Spending on infrastructure is expected to accelerate as the country prepares to host a series of major events in the coming years, including Expo 2030 and the Fifa World Cup in 2034.
Pinto said Stanhope had looked to the Gulf, rather than Asia, to expand because 'this is a client base that understand the benefit of wealth management. The Asian market is very much driven by products, not services.'
The partnership will cover global asset classes, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate, and will offer sharia-compliant products.
GIB is established in Bahrain, with a Saudi subsidiary and branches in the UAE and Oman, and had $42.9bn of assets at the end of 2024. It declined to comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
3 days ago
- CNBC
Saudi Arabia is 'the most compelling' investment opportunity amongst emerging markets
Hasnain Malik, Emerging Markets Equity Strategist at Tellimer, analyzes the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program and breaks down the Public Investment Fund's (PIF) annual report.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Fox's $20-a-month news and sports streamer launches next week. Here's what's on it
Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corp. has largely stayed on the sidelines of the streaming wars. That ends next week. Fox, which owns the most-watched cable news channel Fox News and has TV rights to major sporting events such as the NFL and MLB post-season baseball, has remained committed to the declining pay TV business. But with 65 million households no longer hooked up to cable or satellite services, the company making its channels available to non-pay TV customers for the first time with Fox One, a new streaming platform that will launch Aug. 21. 'There is a growing audience outside of cable,' said Pete Distad, chief executive of direct-to-consumer for Fox Corp., who previewed the service Thursday at a press briefing at the company's New York headquarters. 'We need to give to give those cord-cutters and cord-nevers access to our content.' For $19.99 a month, Fox One will provide subscribers with their local Fox TV affiliate that carries a package of NFL games, plus two Fox Sports cable channels. A full year subscription will cost $199. Fox One will also carry Fox News Media's channels, which include Fox News, Fox Weather and Fox Business. It will provide replays of Fox programming on demand, with access to current seasons of entertainment programs and DVR capabilities with unlimited storage. But the main selling point of Fox One will be the company's array of live events, which include next year's FIFA World Cup. The service will be promoted with the marketing tag line, 'We Live For Live.' Sports is the driver for the service. Fox Corp. and Walt Disney Co. have already agreed to offer a package deal for Fox One and the upcoming ESPN direct-to-consumer service also launching next week, for $39.99 a month, a savings of $10. ESPN will charge subscribers $29.99 on its own. Distad said his company will look at more opportunities to bundle Fox One with other streaming services. Until now, Fox's biggest investment in streaming was the acquisition of Tubi, an ad-supported free streaming service that has grown to capture 1% of all U.S. TV viewing according to Nielsen. Fox Corp. sold its TV and movie studio assets to Disney in 2019, partly because the company did not believe it could compete with deep-pocketed tech firms such as Amazon and Apple, which have spent freely on producing content for their streaming platforms. But Amazon and Netflix — which acquired NFL rights in recent years — have shown that they can draw large audiences for live sports events, an area where Fox Corp. is already deeply entrenched. The real test for the new streaming product will be the appetite for Fox News. The conservative-leaning news channel dominates its competitors in the TV ratings. Whether consumers who have cut the cable cord will be willing to pay to stream the channel's live feed is an open question. 'Nobody knows how many news fans are outside of the pay TV universe,' Distad said. Distad is encouraged by the reach of Fox News content online after it airs live on the TV network. Fox News scored 1.5 billion views on YouTube and 3.7 billion views on social media platforms in the last quarter. Fox News Media's existing streaming channel, Fox Nation, will be offered as a $5 add-on for Fox One for a total of $24.99 a month. The service has documentaries, true crime shows and movies that appeal to the Fox News audience. Fox Corp. executives are keeping their expectations low. It's priced high enough so that the consumer who is currently happy with their current cable TV subscription is not likely to cancel. But Distad said profit projections are 'aggressive' as the platform will not spend money to create original programming. All of the content is being provided from its existing networks. Investment in original programming has been the main obstacle to profitability for the streaming services that have proliferated in recent years. Distad said the company is considering putting podcasts on the Fox One platform. Fox Corp. company recently acquired Red Seat Ventures, a media company that specializes in providing business support and technical services for right-leaning podcasts.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
LA28 to break longstanding tradition with corporate venue names at Games
For the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history, competition venues will carry corporate names during the Games, breaking from the long-standing 'clean venue' tradition. That policy, also enforced at other mega-events like the Fifa World Cup, requires stadiums and arenas to strip or cover all non-official sponsor branding, including naming rights signage. The aim is to protect the exclusivity of global partners who pay millions for official status. In past events, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium became 'Arsenal Stadium' for Uefa matches, and New Jersey's MetLife Stadium will be known as 'New York New Jersey Stadium' during the 2026 World Cup. Related: Trump announces he will chair White House taskforce for 2028 LA Olympics The shift follows years of debate inside the IOC. Former president Thomas Bach had signaled a move towards a 'clean field of play' rather than a blanket 'clean venue' policy, opening the door for more sponsor visibility around the Games. LA28 chair Casey Wasserman said naming rights are 'truly embedded' in the US sporting culture and that many venues are already commonly known by their sponsor names. LA28 announced Thursday that Comcast and Honda will be the first naming rights partners under an IOC-approved pilot program designed to generate additional revenue for the privately funded Los Angeles Games. Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios will stage squash's Olympic debut. Honda Center in Anaheim, home to the NHL's Ducks, will host indoor volleyball while keeping its corporate name. Other permanent venues with existing naming deals, including SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome, Arena, BMO Stadium, Peacock Theater and Devon Park in Oklahoma City, could retain their titles if their sponsors purchase the rights. 'From the moment we submitted our bid, LA28 committed to reimagining what's possible for the Games,' Wasserman said. 'These groundbreaking partnerships with Comcast and Honda, along with additional partners to come, will not only generate critical revenue for LA28 but will introduce a new commercial model to benefit the entire Movement. We're grateful to the IOC for making this transformation possible.' Under the program, up to 19 temporary venues will also have naming rights available to worldwide and LA28 partners, with the first opportunities going to members of the Olympic Partner (TOP) program. TOP sponsors will have first choice on temporary venues, followed by LA28's highest-tier domestic sponsors. Any company outside that group would need to sign on as a founding partner to gain rights. Wasserman has estimated the total value could reach nine figures, depending on the venue and location. Historically, the 'clean venue' policies have meant significant losses for venue sponsors. Marketing analysts estimate that losing naming rights exposure at a World Cup can cost between $5m and $9m for early matches, rising to $80m for the final. For 2026, Fifa has told host cities to hand over full control of their stadiums for more than a month, with all non-sponsor logos removed or covered, even on equipment and roof signage. An IOC statement described the LA28 plan as a 'pilot' that will be 'assessed for relevancy for future hosts'. It said the approach 'takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games' while maintaining the principles of clean venues on the field of play. The move underscores the growing commercialization of the Games as organizers seek new funding models. LA28 will be the first US Summer Olympics in more than 30 years and aims to rely entirely on private financing to meet its estimated $7.1bn budget. Outside the new naming rights program, standard clean venue rules will still apply. The Games run from 14 to 30 July, followed by the Paralympics from 15 to 27 August.
