Iran’s next challenge to GCC countries will be economic, FTfm argues, pointing out that everyone from Ashmore to Lazard Asset Management taking a close look at Iranian opportunities. The latest move in the regional chess match: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has invited the 20-20 Investment Association to come for a visit. The group hasn’t accepted the invite — yet. It’s waiting for US sanctions to ease. But with European banks, companies and investors actively looking for entry points to Iran, it’s only a matter of time. (The 20-20 Investment Association that focuses on “opportunities in emerging and frontier markets.” Its members include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Lazard, the Heinz family office, Fidelity and Capital Group, among others. It has about USD 7 tn in AUM.)

Even if it’s not Iran, asset managers need to look for compelling opportunities somewhere: The pension fund for California teachers recently — which declared earlier this year that the standard 2 and 20 hedge fund model is dead — is now pulling some USD 20 bn from external fund managers, arguing it’s cheaper to manage the money in-house.