Despite the low oil price, investors dismiss opportunities in the non-oil sector at their peril, thanks to fiscal support, demographics and diversification.

Saudi Arabia’s move to allow foreign investors to take direct exposure in listed equities in the first half of 2015 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will allow fund managers to invest in a deep and broad market and reshape the Gulf capital landscape.

Egypt’s recovery story under-appreciated, boosted as it is by sustainable inflows of GCC aid, a much more credible economic policy and nearly three years of pent-up demand.

Recent political instability in Ukraine has once again reminded investors of the risks of investing in emerging market economies. Russian equities have fallen sharply, and the central bank has had to aggressively raise rates. This had followed months of broader volatility in mainstream emerging markets in which currencies have weakened – particularly in the so-called ‘Fragile Five’ of Indonesia, Brazil, India, South Africa and Turkey. Sovereign and corporate balance sheets are under scrutiny amidst slowing emerging markets growth