Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics and finance and worked for GE, after getting my Master of Business Administration from the Andersen School at UCLA. I also spent time at Pacific Life, a sister concern of US bond manager Pacific Investment Management Company.

I then moved to Singapore as head of Asian corporate bond research for Credit Suisse. I was ranked in the top three among high yield analysts in Asia between 2000 and 2002.

In 2003, I relocated to London and eventually moved from research into proprietary trading. I later left London for Dubai in 2006 and helped to establish and run Mashreq’s subsidiary in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).

What does your role involve?
We are a specialist fixed income asset manager and broker. I am involved in portfolio management and setting the strategic direction for the company. As head of Mashreq’s DIFC entity, I am responsible for developing and managing the asset management and equity brokerage business.

I also manage Mashreq Capital’s fixed income hedge fund established in March 2007. The fund was the first of its kind to be set up under the collective investment rules of the DIFC. It invests in global emerging market debt and is a total return fund that can be both long and short.

What do you consider your greatest achievement to date?
As a high yield analyst, I was one of the first to write about a default at Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) when I was in Singapore. It turned out to be the largest emerging market corporate default in history. I was ranked the number one high yield analyst in Asia by The Asset magazine.

Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
Our emerging market bond fund has been outperforming its benchmark index and our regional Shariah compliant Sukuk fund is a good product too.
As the region attracts financial professionals from around the world, fixed income expertise is bound to grow and is, in fact, already growing.

It is the job of these experts, including myself, to educate the regulators, institutions and retail investors in this region about the advantages of having a vibrant, active and large local and regional currency bond market.

What are the strengths of your company?
We are a focused fixed income service provider using state-of-the-art risk management tools.

My team and I have lived through many economic cycles so that gives us a good perspective on how to deal with situations during a crisis. Moreover, we understand the importance of a local currency bond market as an important step in the maturation of local capital markets; it is a key ingredient in any mature financial market.

It allows asset allocation to become more sophisticated, funding sources to become more diverse, and also reduces dependence on global debt markets and regional and global equity markets.

Our business, therefore, plays a large role in developing the local currency bond market and, having been part of the process from an early stage, gives us valuable first-hand experience.

What factors have contributed to the success of your company?
Focus, experience and hard work. Our products are also available regionally and we continue to work on providing a diversified range so as to maximize our reach to a wide range of customers.

What are the challenges/obstacles the company faces today?
The fixed income asset class is relatively new and still not fully understood in the Middle East.

Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in say, the next five years?
I think it will continue growing and innovating. However, we will need some standardization if we are to reach a truly global scale. On our part, our main plan was to launch an Islamic fixed income fund, which we did early this month.

This fund is an ideal platform for investors to diversify their investments from real estate, equities and bank deposits.

Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
A centralized and standardized Shariah authority would go a long way in enhancing Islamic finance.