MENA-based fund managers are keeping their allocations to Egypt unchanged over the next period, according to a Reuters poll. The last poll from the newswire published at the end of last month had indicated that over a quarter of fund managers planned to increase their exposure to Egypt over the next three months. It remains unclear whether the newswire polled the same fund managers or why sentiment on Egypt has shifted. Over half of fund managers polled at the end of last month had also signaled they were bullish on Kuwaiti equities, whereas this month’s poll has the managers saying they plan on keeping their investments on Kuwait steady.

The UAE is looking hot, and Saudi is not: The UAE is fund managers’ top pick, with seven of the 10 who were polled saying they are looking to increase their investments despite Dubai being one of the world’s worst-performing stock markets. “In the UAE, ‘stable oil prices, a wide range of structural reforms and government-led spending initiatives,’ as well as underlying earnings growth should lead to accelerating economic growth into next year, said Mohamed Eljamal, head of public markets at Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital.” As for Saudi Arabia, 60% of fund managers expect to scale back their investments in the kingdom as its petrochem and banking sectors are expected to “face major headwinds.”