EFG Hermes IFA continues its award-wining performance in Kuwait for the third year in a row Kuwait— EFG Hermes IFA, has been named the Best Brokerage Firm in Kuwait by EMEA Finance for the third consecutive year at the fifth annual 2012 Middle East Banking Awards. The award recognizes the firm’s consistently strong performance and its ability to maintain and grow market share.   “We are extremely proud to have upheld our track record as the best broker in Kuwait. In 2012 we continued to expand on our achievements which have included providing an unparalleled diversity of value-added services to our institutional, high-net-worth and individual clients,” said Ahmed Waly, Co-Head of EFG Hermes Brokerage & CEO of EFG Hermes IFA in Kuwait.   Since entering the Kuwaiti market in late 2008, EFG Hermes IFA has rapidly expanded its share of total market executions with a solid market share of 26.5%, closing out the year with a second place ranking in terms of total market executions. While excellence in online trading, timely and accurate executions, international standard services and professional customer support continue to be competitive advantages for EFG Hermes IFA, 2012 also witnessed the launch of the firm’s in-house system, Broker-Mind. A front-to-back brokerage platform, Broker-Mind is accessible from anywhere, extending real-time trading and portfolio viewing to subscribed clients.   EFG Hermes IFA is a full-fledged broker offering its clients the ability to place transaction orders by phone as well as through EFG Hermes’s online trading platform, giving investors 24-hour access to the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange (KSE).   “Despite tough market conditions, we have continued to expand our online business which has been a major growth driver for us on the individual investor side of the business,” said Waly. “Foreign institutional business has also been a key driver in 2012, with the firm executing the majority of these orders on the KSE.” With over a quarter of market executions by value going through EFG Hermes IFA’s trading desks, the firm has also proven its ability to attract and retain high-net-worth and institutional business. The KSE is one of the largest stock markets in the region with over 200 listed companies and a total market capitalization of around USD 100 billion.   EFG Hermes Securities Brokerage has an impressive track record across the region with a number one ranking in Egypt and high rankings in the UAE, where the firm has also received EMEA Finance’s Best Broker in the UAE 2012 award.  Winners of the EMEA Finance Banking Awards 2012 will be announced at a Charity Dinner in Dubai’s Jumeirah Emirates Towers on Monday, April 22, 2013.