Moroccan asset manager Reda Hilali ranks among region’s top leaders

Moroccan executive Reda Hilali, chief executive officer of Wafa Gestion, has been ranked 11th in the Forbes Middle East Top 50 Asset Managers 2026 list, making him the only Morocco based leader featured in this year’s ranking.

Forbes Middle East released its annual ranking of the region’s leading asset management executives, assessing candidates based on assets under management, growth performance, leadership experience, and major achievements.

Hilali has led Wafa Gestion, a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank, since 2016. Under his leadership, the company’s assets under management surpassed $17.7 billion in 2025, reflecting annual growth of more than 21%. The firm also maintained an average market share of 22.4% during the year.

In 2025, Wafa Gestion launched three balanced funds designed for high net worth families and introduced a long term fixed income dedicated fund for an institutional client. These initiatives contributed to the company’s position in the regional ranking.

Regional asset management landscape

The Forbes Middle East ranking highlights 50 leaders from eight Arab countries. Together, their firms managed more than $554 billion in assets during 2025. The ranking covers a broad range of investment activities, including local and international equities, debt funds, discretionary portfolios, real estate investments, REITs, and private equity.

Leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries accounted for 43 of the 50 entries. Saudi Arabia led the ranking with 20 executives whose firms managed more than $285 billion in assets. Kuwait followed with eight leaders overseeing $94.2 billion.

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt each contributed six executives, while Qatar had five entries, Bahrain three, and Oman one.

Outside the Gulf region, Morocco was represented by a single leader whose firm managed $17.5 billion in assets. Egypt’s six featured leaders collectively managed $13.7 billion.

Ranking methodology

SNB Capital’s Rashed Sharif retained the top position for the third consecutive year, managing $70.1 billion in assets. Investcorp’s Mohammed Alardhi ranked second with $62.3 billion, while NBK Wealth Group’s Faisal Al Hamad moved up from eighth place to third with $48.3 billion under management.

Forbes Middle East based its ranking primarily on total assets under management as of December 31, 2025. The evaluation also considered growth in assets under management between 2024 and 2025, leadership experience, key achievements over the past year, and institutional strength.

The methodology assigned greater weight to independent asset management firms than to bank affiliated businesses. The final list included 26 leaders from independent firms and 24 from bank backed institutions.