​MUSCAT, 15 May 2019 

Bank Muscat Oryx Fund has once again won the prestigious Lipper Fund award for the ‘Best MENA Equity Fund’. The Oryx Fund won the 2019 Lipper award in the 5 year category and was rated the best performing fund in the MENA region among 13 funds following a similar investment strategy.

Notching the highest returns in the MENA region, the Oryx Fund topped the Lipper Fund ranking for the fourth time in the last five years to win the prestigious award. In the past, the fund has won the Lipper award for the Best MENA Fund in 2009, 2015, 2016 and 2018.

For more than three decades, the Lipper awards have honoured funds and fund management firms that excel in providing consistent performance relative to their peers. Presented by Refinitiv, formerly the financial and risk business of Thomson Reuters, the awards showcase fund managers’ investment expertise and recognize funds with outstanding track records. Based on Lipper’s quantitative, proprietary methodology, the awards reflect a truly independent and unbiased assessment of fund performance.

Commenting on the achievement, Sulaiman Al Yahyai, Chairman of Oryx Fund, said: “Lipper's credible and objective recognition of outstanding fund performance places Oryx Fund in a league of its own. The performance of the fund is lauded time and again by global fund ranking entities such as Lipper, MENA Fund Manager and Emerging Market Finance. The Lipper Fund endorsement reflects the consistency of the performance of Oryx Fund and the innovative investment strategies which have cemented its reputation in a very tough market. We are proud that an Omani Fund is the best performing fund in the GCC over a long-term horizon."

Abdullah Al Hinai, Chief Wholesale Banking and Strategic Growth Officer, said: "We thank all our investors for their support and commitment for the Oryx Fund. The Fund’s strategy has been proven over various market cycles. It is a matter of great pride for us that an Omani Fund has not only achieved the best performance but with a size of over USD 100 million, is also the second largest fund in the region. I would also like to thank the Capital Markets Authority for their support and look forward to receiving support from investors to make an Omani Fund as the largest and best performing fund in the MENA region."

The Oryx Fund is regulated by the Capital Market Authority, Oman and is an open ended fund. The Oryx Fund has a long and successful track record, in fact the longest in the entire MENA region since it was established in 1994. The Fund invests primarily in the GCC and wider MENA markets which offer substantial growth opportunities across multiple countries and sectors. This widens the investment horizon and benefits of diversification to investors. The trading volume in regional markets is much higher thus reducing the impact costs for investors.