Emirates NBD, a UAE-based banking group, has launched Emirates Islamic Money Market Fund, a daily dealing Sharia-compliant open ended fund domiciled in Jersey.
The fund aims to achieve higher profit return than comparative Sharia-compliant bank deposits, from a diversified portfolio of Sharia-compliant money market instruments.
The fund provides investors diversification from traditional equity and real estate investments and can form part of an investor’s portfolio irrespective of their investment horizon. Further, the fund can also be used as a parking facility during periods of surplus liquidity.
The fund will acquire a diversified portfolio, including but not limited to, Islamic deposits, murabaha, sukuk and international trade contracts. Assets will be diversified across a range of durations and liquidity terms in order to optimise potential for higher profit, without increasing volatility or hampering daily liquidity.
The fund will be managed by Emirates NBD Asset Management, a fully-owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD Bank.
Deon Vernooy, head of asset management at Emirates NBD, said: “The fund is one of the first of its kind globally and will look to access the growing range of Islamic cash or near cash investments. It will also seek to benefit from the yield pick-up in USD-pegged currencies and the current cost of funding for corporates and banks.”