A management buyout from Barclays Bank, Arabesque is the first Shariah-compliant ESG Quant fund manager

8th October 2015, United Arab Emirates: Arabesque Partners, the award-winning London and Frankfurt based global asset management firm is pleased to announce the appointment of Bahraini banking professional Rehan Noor Pathan to its partnership as new Head of Middle East.

Operating globally, Arabesque is the first ESG Quant fund manager that combines sustainability and Shariah-compliant values with a sophisticated fundamental stock selection process and state of the art risk and investment management technology.

The firm was institutionally developed in 2011 by Barclays Bank PLC, before its senior management bought out all rights and intellectual property and established Arabesque independently in 2013. The name 'Arabesque' describes geometric art built with mathematical equations. The firm uses patterns to organize an investment universe of global stocks into a combination that delivers a superior risk-return profile using fundamental, quantitative, forensic, financial and non-financial data.

Since its inception in August 2014, Arabesque's flagship Systematic Fund has outperformed the MSCI ACWI by +9.39%[1] and ranks in the top 5% of its conventional peer group according to Morningstar analysis.

Mr. Pathan, who founded the independent specialist sales firm Takseem in 2011, will be responsible for the expansion of Arabesque's presence across the Middle East. Prior to Takseem, which has been acquired by Arabesque Partners and where he will continue to serve as Chairman, Mr. Pathan started his 20 year career with ABN AMRO Bank and has held senior positions at Deutsche Bank and NCB Capital. He holds a B.Sc. from the University of Bahrain with Honors and an MBA with distinction from CASS Business School, City University.

Commenting on his appointment, Rehan Pathan said: "I am delighted to join Arabesque as Partner and Head of Middle East, and with it the opportunity to introduce the firm's ESG Quant offering to the region. Through the performance of its funds and the quality of its people, Arabesque truly is a globally competitive, next generation asset manager.

"The firm's products are among the best performing worldwide, screened for ESG factors, globally diversified, internally risk managed and liquid. They also comply with the principles of responsible investing and Shariah and use no leverage, shorting or derivatives. It's a perfect match with the requirements of many groups of investors across the GCC."

Mr. Pathan added: "The acquisition by Arabesque Partners also adds tremendous value to the Takseem service platform and we look forward to building both businesses."

Omar Selim, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Arabesque said: "Arabesque combines leading investment technology in harmony with Islamic values. We are delighted with the appointment of Rehan to head up our operation in the Middle East. His many years of experience and specialisation in finance and asset management are vital for Arabesque Partners to service this vibrant region."

Arabesque's Board is led by Chairman Dr. Robert Eccles, a Professor at Harvard Business School and founding Chairman of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Boards (SASB). He is joined by Vice Chairman-designate Georg Kell, the founder and former Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest voluntary initiative to create corporate sustainability involving over 8,000 companies from 162 countries.  

Arabesque has been the recipient of several leading industry awards since its launch, including being named SRI Manager of the Year at The Investment Excellence Awards 2015 organized by Euromoney's Global Investor, and receiving a Global Islamic Finance Award for Most Innovative Product 2015.

For further information, please contact Ciaran McCale by email at ciaran@pha-media.com or call +44 (0)207 0251 358

About Arabesque Partners
Arabesque Asset Management was developed in 2011 by Barclays Bank PLC, before its senior management bought out all rights and intellectual property in 2013 and established it as an independent firm. From inception to the present, Arabesque has been built in cooperation with leading professors from universities including Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, the Fraunhofer Society and Maastricht.

Arabesque offers a quantitative approach to sustainable investing. It combines state of the art systematic portfolio management technology with the values of the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investments (UN PRI), and balance sheet and business activity screening. The integration of ESG research into sophisticated portfolio management aims to deliver consistent outperformance.

Led by founder and CEO Omar Selim, Arabesque is headquartered in London and has a large research hub in Frankfurt, together with an Advisory Board of highly respected industry leaders and academics. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd is authorized and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Arabesque (Deutschland) GmbH is based in Frankfurt with a focus on research, programming and advisory.

© Press Release 2015