Bahrain-based Investcorp has been awarded the mandates to manage a total of $310m for two institutional investors in the US, the bank said on 10 November.

According to the bank, the awards bring the total mandates from US institutional investors in 2009 to $1bn.

The mandates are split between $250m of investments from an undisclosed US insurance company, and a second $60m mandate from a pension fund. The assets will be managed in the form of hedge funds; which in turn invest in equities, bonds and derivatives.

Mohammed al-Shroogi, president of Gulf business at Investcorp said the award reflects a trend among US institutional investors to increase their allocations to investments such as hedge funds.

The company said earlier in 2009 it had reported its first ever loss in the full year to 30 June. The bank’s total loss in the 12 months to the end of June was $780.6m.