Sovereign wealth funds from the region with the world's highest concentration of state-backed capital, the Gulf of Arabia, are set to increase their allocation to hedge funds and other alternative investments.

Speaking at a roundtable conducted behind closed doors in the Gulf last month, and just published, Bhisham Manraj, head of fixed income, currency and commodity coverage of Middle East and North Africa sovereign wealth funds at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: "We will see increasing interest from SWFs for alternative investments.