The National Commercial Bank – Investment Services Division announced the launch of the AlAhli GCC Trading Equity Fund, (GCCTEF) an open-end Saudi Riyal-denominated fund, with a minimum subscription of SR5, 000 and especially designed for investors seeking a Shariah–compliant long term investment.
This announcement was made by Ahmed Farid the Head of Asset Management Division at the National Commercial Bank who commented that the fund aims at generating long-term capital growth by investing in Shariah-compliant GCC equities, Murabahas and Murabaha funds which are approved by the National Commercial Bank’s Shariah board and managed according to the mutual fund regulations issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.
Mr. Farid added that the GCCTEF targets customers keen on investing in Shariah-compliant equities and having an optimistic long-term view of the markets in the GCC. It is also designed for those who do not have the time or the experience to venture into the stock markets in the region.
On the other hand, the Head of Portfolio Management at the National Commercial Bank, Haitham Al Mubarak recommended that investors assess the performance of the GCCTEF within a testing period that is no less than five years. Al Mubarak also said that the GCC Trading Equity Fund will leverage the strong economic growth in the region for the longer term based on NCB’s positive and pragmatic overview of the macroeconomic performance of the GCC markets. However, investors should be aware of the high risks of investing in stocks in general and stocks in the ‘Emerging Markets’ in particular. Therefore we note the importance of diversification in the selection of the assets in this fund across the six GCC countries.
Furthermore, recent research has shown that the Kingdom leads across the Arab countries in terms of attracting Arab and foreign investments.
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) was the first Saudi Arabian bank to introduce mutual funds in the Kingdom in 1979 and remains the leader of the industry because of its extensive experience and expertise in the field. The bank is acknowledged internationally as the pioneer and the innovator in Islamic Shariah-compliant mutual funds. This achievement was recognized when NCB was awarded the Euromoney International award for the Best Islamic Asset Management House for two consecutive years in 2003 and 2004.
