Dubai-based Emirates NBD Asset Management has signed an agreement with Acordias, a service platform for financial intermediaries, to distribute its managed funds to European financial advisors and international life companies.

The agreement will see Acordias market Emirates NBD’s managed funds, which invest across a range of mandates, asset classes and regions, including the Middle East and North Africa.

The asset manager said this latest agreement, which follows the signing of a distribution agreement in Singapore, is part of a strategy to build more third-party distribution partnerships, thus growing its international client base.

“Europe is one of the most developed and competitive fund markets,” said Deon Vernooy, chief executive, Emirates NBD Asset Management, adding that the firm had been looking for a way to enter this market for the past year.  

On the investor side, the agreement provides another way of accessing Middle Eastern economies, which have underperformed over the last two years and offer attractive valuations, according to Andrew Wilkins, CEO of Acordias.

“They offer an interesting opportunity to access a region which because of recent anxiety has potential for healthy returns over the medium to long term. As such we think that they are a great addition to our platform,” he said.

The parent bank, Emirates NBD, has operations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UK and Jersey, with representative offices in India, Iran and Singapore.