Global Investment House "Global" announced today that it has launched "Global Islamic Fund of Funds," an open-ended fund of funds investing in local and international Shari’a compliant funds.
Mr. Sameer Al-Gharaballi - Executive Vice President at Global said, “The fund’s objective is to provide long term capital appreciation with reduced risk by investing in a diverse basket of Shari’a compliant funds and instruments.”
He added that the fund’s strategy is to invest the majority of its assets in a core of “carefully selected Islamic funds that complement each other in risk and return.”
The fund will also invest in low risk instruments to reduce the overall volatility of the portfolio. The rest of the fund will be invested opportunistically in new tools or funds that materialize in the future.
Miss Badria Al-Humaidhi, Senior Investment Analyst in Global, pointed that the fund’s manager – Global - has teamed up with AlRayah Consultancy to review and confirm that all the underlying managers comply with the Islamic Shari’a laws.
“The fund aims to diversify its exposure in the global markets to minimize the risks associated with any one market as well as setting risk parameters to ensure that the fund is not overly exposed to any one market or sector,” Al-Humaidhi emphasized.
Additionally, the fund may invest in all types of funds similar -but not limited- to Equity, Real Estate, Hedge Funds and Private Equity funds compliant with the Shari’a law.
Al-Humaidhi followed by saying, “There are Over 300 Islamic financial institutions operating in 75 countries with combined assets exceeding USD300 billion, and an annual growth rate of 15%. Additionally, Islamic funds assets have had a rapid growth in the past decade, their AUM has exceeded USD300 billion as of 2006, with a significant amount attributable to the growth of the GCC stock markets.”
As for the management style, Mr. Faisal S. Quttaineh, Senior Manager – Investment Funds, stressed that the fund will enjoy “a strong, balanced mix of Global’s expertise in Islamic investments and experience in managing fund of funds.”
The fund’s minimum subscription is USD25,000 with a monthly subscription frequency and quarterly redemptions after the lockup period.
Global has been tracking Islamic fund managers for over five years and has a vast experience in the Islamic Financial Markets which has resulted in the launching of three Islamic Real Estate Funds; Global GCC Real Estate Fund, Global US Real Estate Fund and Global Asia Real Estate Fund along with a range of Equity funds such as Al-Durrah Islamic Fund and Global Islamic GCC Large Cap Fund, as well as a Money Market fund, Global Islamic Fund.
Regarding the Investment Breakdowns, Quttaineh said, “The Fund’s investment breakdown involves 3 areas which are by type, Sector and geography. The breakdown per sector includes Real Estate Funds, mutual Funds and Fixed Income, the fund’s investments will cover the world geographically, where as the breakdown per type will include Real Estate and Fixed Income”.
It is worth noting that Global has a vast experience in managing fund of funds, since the company’s inception it has managed seven funds of funds which include the internationally ranked “Global Umbrella Fund – Europe” and “Global Distressed fund” which was ranked 3rd in the world with regards to “Sharpe Ratio” in the EurekaHedge Database which is comprised of more than 1500 Hedge Funds of Funds at the end of 2005.
Global currently manages more than 30 investment funds of varying strategies and investment objectives, with returns exceeding market indices.
About Global Investment House “Global”
Global Investment House “Global” is a full-fledged investment company incorporated in 1998, and falls under the regulation of the Central Bank of Kuwait. Its underlying foundation is to meet the high expectations of local and international clients, and to enhance the investment service industry in Kuwait and the region. Today, Global’s stock is listed on the Kuwait, Bahrain, and Dubai Stock Exchanges, with branches and affiliates in Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Jordan, Qatar, and Sudan. Global plays an important role in promoting investment opportunities in the Arabian Gulf Peninsula to investors through expert financial engineering, in-depth research and reports, to advance the capital markets in the region. Additionally, Global’s achievements have been recognized on local, regional, and international levels. The company’s current assets under management reached KD2.130 billion (USD7.355 billion) as of 31 March 2007.
