NCB Capital, a major provider of wealth management services in the GCC and claimed to be Saudi Arabia’s largest asset manager, has been named the best overall research house in the annual Euromoney Middle East Equity Research awards for 2014. NCB Capital was also named the best overall research provider for eight specific sectors, up from five in 2013. Additionally, it ranked first for economic research.

The eight sectors in which the firm topped the poll include construction/cement; consumer goods/retail; food and agriculture; oil/gas/chemicals/petrochemicals; property/real estate; insurance; telecoms and utilities.

Congratulating her team on these results, Sarah Al-Suhaimi, CEO of NCB Capital, said: “As the largest asset manager in the region's largest market, we are proud of our commitment to deliver high quality economic, sector and equity insights to investors, policy makers and corporate decision-makers. The Euromoney Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in our profession and we are honored to be consistently recognized for the quality and reliability of our research.”

The Euromoney annual poll invites global and regional investors, specifically high net worth individuals and institutions, to rate the quality of research covering the Middle Eastern equity markets through nominating the top three firms by sector, based on overall performance and accuracy.

Euromoney Editor Clive Horwood said: “Accessing high quality research on the Middle East region is crucial to both local and international investors. Through our annual survey of investors, Euromoney highlights those institutions at the forefront of the industry. As Saudi Arabia opens up to foreign investment, NCB Capital has established itself as a key source of information and point of access to an exciting new market for institutional investors.”

The team produces the annual Saudi Factbook – the “most comprehensive” analysis of the Saudi capital markets, its economy and all stocks listed on the Tadawul All Shares Index (TASI).