Middle East’s inaugural Global Alternative Investment Management (GAIM) conference launched Tuesday at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. The conference is outlining the need for regional investors to diversify, in light of the recent stock market turbulence witnessed globally. The inaugural summit highlighted the latest alternative investment strategies with a focus on lucrative emerging market opportunities and local needs. More than 60 high-profile speakers from 14 different countries are leading the conference through 25 comprehensive sessions.One of the highlights of GAIM Middle East includes Nasser H. Saidi, chief economist of Dubai International Financial Center who will discuss how DIFC is working with local service providers to create a one-stop shop for fund managers and investors. The pioneer in Islamic finance, Eric Meyer – CEO of Shariah Capital – will highlight the growing demand for Shariah compliant hedge fund products and the significance of having a global Shariah platform. And the Philippa Malmgren, president of the Canonbury Group, spoke about how geo-politics is affecting the world financial markets.