Mark Watts, the General Manager, Head and Chief Investment Officer of NBAD’s Asset Management Group
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Sukuk Income Fund will pay to its investors a semi-annual distribution equal to 1.98% of the unit NAV of 5.3286 US$, being the NAV as at 30 May 2013. Accordingly, each unit in the Fund will receive a dividend pay-out of 0.10569 US$.
The Fund earned interest equivalent to 632029.02 US$ since 29 November 2012 till 30 May.
“We are extremely pleased to be offering one of the best products in the market for our Islamic investors good levels of income and low volatility. In a market that has seen returns to investors shrink, we are particularly proud to be able to offer this income and total return,” said Mark Watts, the General Manager, Head and Chief Investment Officer of NBAD’s Asset Management Group.
Investors, who have successfully subscribed into the fund by May 29th 2013 or prior, will be eligible to receive dividends. The dividend pay-out method will be based on the pay-out preference each investor in the Fund had selected at the time of subscription. Accordingly, dividend reinvestment will be based on the unit NAV of June 5th 2013, while dividend pay-out in the form of cash will be paid out within 12 business days from the Ex-Dividend Date.
Ali Soner Guney, Fixed Income Fund Manager at NBAD, commented: ‘Our outlook for the next 12 months is positive for MENA markets and we believe that investors will comfortably outperform cash in 2013 as the region continues to improve and liquidity remain abundant.”
The NBAD Sukuk Income Fund is an open-ended and actively managed product and distributes income semi-annually. The Fund’s structure and its investments are regularly reviewed by the well-known Shari’a scholar Sheikh NizamYacquobi of Bahrain to ensure continued adherence to Shari’a principles. It is open to institutional and individual investors who can invest as low as USD500 either through lump sum or regular investment plans.
The Fund is designed to capture the best opportunities available to investors by investing in a range of Sukuk and Islamic money market investments that are issued by the UAE Government; government-related entities, and selected corporates, mainly from the UAE and wider MENA region. The Fund, which is managed by NBAD's Asset Management Group, the region’s premier asset manager, aims to maximize income in a risk-controlled manner.
NBAD’s Asset Management Group is a winner of many accolades and awards. Recently, it was named the Best Asset Management House in the Middle East by International Takaful Awards for the second year running. Other awards include Fixed Income Fund Manager by Global Investor magazine, the UAE Asset Manager of the Year in MENA Fund Manager Performance Awards from Mena Fund Manager magazine, and Best Asset Manager in the UAE, also from Global Investor.
NBAD’s award-winning Asset Management Group controls assets in excess of AED5 billion, making it one of the largest of its kind in the UAE.
