Dubai-based Shari'ah-compliant life and health insurance company Takaful Emarat has teamed up with Saudi Arabia's Riyad Capital to launch a new Shari'ah-compliant, capital-protected global equity investment fund.
"With this new saving opportunity, we are fulfilling our commitment to the market," said Takaful Emarat's chief Ghassan Marrouche. "Joining with Riyad Capital makes perfect sense as it shares our values and, as the investment arm of Riyad Bank, its credentials speak for themselves. As a genuine Takaful operator we offer deeper understanding and better services than other insurance operators, who simply offer Takaful-based products as one arm of a wider business."
Takaful Emarat Capital Protected Fund is the first fund developed in-house and has been designed to be a long-term saving venture. The fund offers 90% of the highest net asset value (NAV) protected at all time. The product is categorised as a global fund and is linked to the performance of a selected Shari'ah-compliant basket of stocks, chosen for its high cash flow and low debt to equity ratio. The capital protection of the fund is provided by Morgan Stanley.
Marrouche said global uncertainty has created a need for capital-protected, open-ended funds, and emphasised that the fund is the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is open to everyone - including non Muslims: "It is a socially responsible fund," he said. "The sectors that we avoid - tobacco, pornography, alcohol... are harmful to all societies - not just Muslim societies."