Some investment companies in the Gulf will likely find it difficult to pursue their operations without dramatic changes in the wake of the global financial downturn, Standard & Poor's has said in a new report. "The main reasons behind this deterioration, in our opinion, are Gulf investment companies' generally high maturity mismatches they carry in their funding profiles and the ensuing weakened liquidity, weak business profiles, high leverage, and high exposure to real estate for some of them," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Mohamed Damak. Damak said: "But in the short term, we see some major hurdles for Gulf investment companies to overcome on the potential road to recovery."