FTAdviser.com

Advertising

In his new role, Mr Sidani will take over management of the $600m (£300m) ISF Middle East fund. The fund, which launched in September 2007, had until now been managed by Dubai-based external adviser Algebra Capital.

The fund will be co-managed by Allan Conway. Schroders said more appointments to the team were expected in the coming months.

Mr Conway said: "When we launched the fund last September we didn't have very much inhouse expertise in the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, so rather than investors pay fees for us to climb a learning curve, we had an outside adviser take care of the management.

"It was always planned to be a short-term measure until the fund was brought inhouse."

Mr Conway added: "The combination of our long-established track record in emerging markets and the team’s regional expertise will create a highly competitive offering for our clients."

Mr Sidani would apply "the very distinctive approach and management style" used on all of Schroder's Middle Eastern funds, which includes institutional mandates.

He is expected to begin his new role in a matter of weeks.

Before being hired by Schroders, Mr Sidani worked at Shuaa Capital, where he managed more than £500m in equities across the Mena region.

He also managed conventional and specialist funds in all 12 Arab equity markets.

The manager said he hoped to help Schroders grow its AUM in the fast-growing region.

"The decision to establish an investment capability in the region demonstrates the vision and strong commitment that Schroders has to the Middle East," he added.