Acumen Holding

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Acumen Holding Boutique Investment Bank providing integrated capital markets and investment solutions

24/09/2026

This Week in Egyptian Markets

Foreign and Arab investors put $1.02 billion into Egyptian government debt on Tuesday and Wednesday — the largest two-session inflow in our coverage. The pound responded within hours, reaching 51.49 on Wednesday — its strongest in a month — and ending the week at 51.78.

The same week, non-Arab foreign investors sold EGP 1.08 billion of Egyptian shares, their selling deepening every session. The EGX30 fell 3.10% to 53,776.69, five straight losses and 5.12% below its record. The broader market fell further: the EGX70 closed at 19,834.95, down 5.82%, and the EGX100 at 26,232.99, down 5.23%.

Egyptian investors took the other side of every trade, buying more each day as the foreign bid withdrew.

The reason is arithmetic, not sentiment. Six-to-nine-month Treasury bills are clearing at 25.5% — roughly an 11% real return, risk-free, with daily liquidity. That, not the 19% policy rate, is what Egyptian equities are competing against. With core inflation at 14.9%, above the headline, the CBE has little room to cut.

Sources: EGX, Central Bank of Egypt, CAPMAS, The Middle East Observer, EGXBot, Reuters. Data through Thursday 24 September. For information only; not investment advice.

24/09/2026

This Week in Global Markets

Iran’s president told the UN that Hormuz stays shut while sanctions persist. Brent jumped 3.86% in a session and the US 10-year hit 5.08% — its highest since 17 July 2007, according to Reuters.

A milestone, but a modest move: the 10-year was already above 5% before the week began — and it rose despite the Treasury’s plan to buy back up to $6bn of long-dated debt. The real dislocation was in crude — Brent fell 2.6% while WTI fell 10%, widening the spread from $3.40 to $10.92. That gap is what the Gulf conflict is costing.

The Nasdaq hit back-to-back records, up 3.69%, while small caps fell. Japan hiked to a 31-year high and the yen weakened anyway.

Ahead of today’s Trump–Xi summit, Washington and Beijing extended their trade truce by two months. It had been due to expire on 10 November; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the extra time allows a broader deal to be negotiated.

For Egypt, the macro turned: the pound firmed to 51.67 and $775 million flowed into sovereign debt in a single session — even as foreigners sold equities.

Sources: Reuters, US Treasury, Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, CBE. Data through 24 September. For information only; not investment advice.

A portfolio statement rarely explains itself. But the movement is not random — five forces do nearly all of the work, an...
22/09/2026

A portfolio statement rarely explains itself. But the movement is not random — five forces do nearly all of the work, and in Egypt each one has a number you can look up.

So take one portfolio and follow it through the past twelve months. You hold 100: fifty in EGX-listed shares, twenty-five in one-year Treasury bills, twenty-five in dollar assets.

Egyptian shares. The EGX30 rose about 58% over the year, but only the 50 in shares is exposed — so that is +29, not +58. The portfolio is 129. This is the loudest driver and the one you already watch, which is exactly why it gets mistaken for the whole picture.

Income accruing. The one-year Treasury bill yielded close to 20%, so the 25 held in bills paid +5 whatever equity prices did. The portfolio is 134.

The currency. The pound now trades at about 52 to the dollar, from roughly 50 a year ago — but only the 25 in dollar assets benefits: +1. The portfolio is 135. The asset never moved; the yardstick did.

Interest rates. The Central Bank deposit rate stands at 19.5% against inflation of 14.5%, so cash paid 5% above inflation with no risk at all. That is the bar your portfolio had to clear before taking any.

Inflation. 135 from 100 is a 35% nominal gain. Against urban inflation at 14.5%, the real return is 20.5%. Inflation does not move your portfolio; it decides what the result is worth.

Notice which force touched what. Share prices moved only the equities, the bill yield only the bills, the pound only the dollar assets — while rates and inflation set the bar for all 100. A 35% headline and a 20.5% real return are the same year, which is why one percentage on a statement tells you almost nothing on its own.

Sources: EGX, Central Bank of Egypt, CAPMAS. Illustrative portfolio; past performance is not indicative of future results.

20/09/2026

Ezdehar Fund — weekly review

The Fund returned +0.03% over the week, taking year-to-date performance to +20.24% and a cumulative return of +392.56% since inception in February 2014.

A balanced, Shariah-compliant strategy managed by Acumen Asset Management on behalf of First Abu Dhabi Bank. Subscription and redemption are available daily through FAB Misr branches; the unit price is set weekly. NAV 492.5580 EGP as at 19 September 2026.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

17/09/2026

This Week in Global Markets

The Fed raised rates 25bp to 3.75–4.00% on Wednesday — its first hike since July 2023, on a unanimous 12–0 vote. Two weeks ago this committee looked split. Hot core CPI, +162,000 August payrolls, $100 oil and 1.2% retail sales closed the argument.

Markets accepted the hike and sold the path. The dot plot signals another hike this year and one in 2027, with PCE inflation not back at target until 2029 — a central bank describing a multi-year fight, not an insurance move. The 10-year has since held above 5% — its highest since July 2007 — while the 2-year rose twice as fast and flattened the curve.

Then the chokepoints. On Friday, drones from Iraq shut Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline — 4 to 5 million barrels a day, and the only meaningful bypass around a Hormuz closed since March. In Yemen, the Houthis completed their seizure of Bab al-Mandeb, the strait that pipeline empties into. Every redundancy in Gulf oil logistics is now closed, damaged or under hostile watch. Brent has since run to roughly $109, up around 20% on the month, with Gulf crude trading at a $43 discount to oil outside the strait.

Equity damage was concentrated and revealing: the Dow fell 1.76% while the Nasdaq lost 1.05% and closed Fed day flat. The dollar touched 100 on Fed day before slipping back below it; gold is quoted around $4,350. The VIX has finally begun to lift, near 17.7.

For Egypt the vice tightened. The pound slipped through 52 to about 52.11, and a hostile force now sits on the approach to Suez — an asset that already cost Cairo $7 billion in the earlier phase of Red Sea disruption. Sisi hosted MBS on Tuesday to press for secure navigation; Egypt has no military option, so diplomacy and Gulf partnership are the available tools. The harder constraint is arithmetic: a 5% US yield narrows the real-rate spread that has been Egypt’s main draw for foreign capital.

Sources: Federal Reserve, BLS, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, EGX, Lloyd’s List Intelligence. US equity, rate and Fed data through Wednesday 16 September close; oil, gold and FX through Thursday 17 September. For information only; not investment advice.

17/09/2026

This Week in Egyptian Markets

The pound broke 52 this week — and the stock market wasn’t the reason.

The CBE official rate crossed the threshold mid-week at 51.997 / 52.135, a first. But the currency story ran through the bond market, not the bourse. On Monday, foreign and Arab investors sold $418.8 million of secondary-market Treasury bills and the pound fell roughly 1% in a single session. On Tuesday $463.5 million came straight back in, and it steadied.

The detail most coverage missed: non-Arab foreign investors were net buyers of Egyptian equities on Sunday (+EGP 43m) and Monday (+EGP 118m) — the week’s two worst sessions, down 1.09% and 1.56%. The equity selling came from Arab institutions.

Breadth told the same story of a floor forming. Sunday and Monday: 94 advancers against 369 decliners, four falling for every one that rose. Tuesday and Wednesday: 242 against 196 — positive, while the headline index was still flat.

The EGX30 closed Thursday at 55,498.72, up 1.23% on the session and down 1.39% on the week, 2.08% off its 6 September record. The EGX70 finished at 21,061.13 and the EGX100 at 27,681.98. Weekly top gainers were NAPR +41.51%, NCCW +30.13% and MPCO +22.52%; the largest declines were GRCA −24.89%, CERA −16.00% and AMES −13.18%.

The backdrop is what Egypt is up against: the Fed hiked to 3.75–4.00%, its first since 2023; the US 10-year touched 5.041%; Brent sits near $104. Year to date, the EGX30 is still up about 32.7%.

Read the flows, not the headline.

Sources: EGX, EGXBot, Middle East Observer, Central Bank of Egypt, Cairo24. Index and flow data through Thursday 17 September 2026. For information only; not investment advice.

17/09/2026

Why bond prices fall when rates rise?

The most counter-intuitive rule in investing, explained without a single calculation.

Think of a bond as a promise to pay you the same amount every year until it matures. That promise never changes — which is exactly why its resale value has to.

When interest rates rise, anything issued from that day forward carries better income. Your bond still pays exactly what it always paid — and that is the problem. Next to the new ones it simply looks worse. The only way to sell it is to accept a lower price. Rates up, prices down — two ends of the same seesaw.

It works the same way in reverse. When rates fall, your fixed income suddenly beats what new bonds offer, buyers compete for it, and the price rises. Long-dated bonds move the most in either direction, because the promise runs for longer.

One thing worth holding onto: a falling price is not a loss until you act on it. Hold the bond to maturity and, barring default by the issuer, you are repaid in full.

Sources: CFA Institute, Bank for International Settlements. For information only; not investment advice.

13/09/2026

Ezdehar Fund — weekly review.

The Fund returned +3.11% over the week, taking year-to-date performance to +20.20% and a cumulative return of +392.41% since inception in February 2014.

A balanced, Shariah-compliant strategy managed by Acumen Asset Management on behalf of First Abu Dhabi Bank. Subscription and redemption are available daily through FAB Misr branches; the unit price is set weekly. NAV 492.4145 EGP as at 12 September 2026.

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

10/09/2026

This Week in Egyptian Markets

The EGX30 set an all-time high of 56,676.16 on Sunday — on a session where Egyptian investors were 94.51% of all trading activity and foreigners just 1.72%. By Thursday it closed at 56,280.17, up 0.02% on the week. Every point of the record was handed back.

Sunday’s high was broad: 124 advancers against 99. Tuesday’s flush took breadth to 60 against 160, and Wednesday’s recovery came on the week’s lightest turnover with 79 advancers against 150. The EGX70 closed at 21,403.27, the EGX100 at 27,997.27.

The flow data explains the ceiling. Arab and foreign investors bought roughly $520 million of Egyptian government securities while selling about $9 million of equities. A 19% deposit rate against 14.5% inflation delivers a 4.5% real return with daily liquidity and no earnings risk — until the CBE cuts, the carry trade out-competes the stock market for the same foreign dollar.

The macro went the right way: August urban inflation fell to 14.5% and reserves set a record at $57.214 billion. But electricity, gas and fuels rose 4.3% in a month, before $101 Brent passes through.

A rally funded by domestic savings has a ceiling set by domestic savings. The level to watch is 57,000; the more informative number is breadth.

Sources: EGX, EGXBot, Amwal Al Ghad, CAPMAS, Central Bank of Egypt, FRA. Data through Thursday 10 September 2026. For information only; not investment advice.

10/09/2026

This Week in Global Markets

Brent settled at $101.21, its first close above $100 since July and up 25% on the month, after the biggest wave of attacks on Gulf shipping of the war. Forty-two tankers now wait to transit Hormuz. The market has moved from pricing a war premium to pricing a partial blockade.

Then the labour market answered the Fed’s question: August payrolls came in at +162,000 against +55,000 expected. Every Treasury tenor from two to thirty years hit a 52-week high, and a September hike is near 60% priced.

Egypt delivered the week’s divergence — urban inflation fell to 14.5% from 14.9% even as oil surged, keeping the CBE’s easing path credible. Foreign investors bought roughly $520 million of Egyptian debt in two sessions while trimming equities.

These forces compound rather than offset. $100 oil raises the inflation the Fed must fight; the hike it delivers raises the discount rate on a market already narrowing.

Sources: BLS, Federal Reserve, Bloomberg, Reuters, CAPMAS, EGX. Data through 10 September 2026. For information only; not investment advice.

Address

Sodic West/Polygon, Kilo 38 Cairo Alex. Road, Building 3, 5th Floor, Office 5c, 6th Of OctoberSodic West/Polygon, Kilo 38 Cairo Alex. Road, Building 3, 5th Floor, Office 5c, 6th Of October, Giza, EG
Cairo
12588

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+20238653336

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Acumen Holding posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Acumen Holding:

Shortcuts

Share

Category