Standard Chartered Bank has launched a new investment product, first of its kind in the region, the Oasis Note, which provides investors with an opportunity to gain exposure to some of the leading hedge funds in the world, while ensuring maximum protection of their capital, according to a bank press release.
Hedge funds, long considered the sole preserve of the very rich, are investment vehicles designed to achieve positive returns in both rising and falling markets. While hedge funds have historically outperformed traditional funds and broad market indices, returns are reliant primarily on the strategies and skills of the fund managers, performance that has not been benchmarked in the past.
Now, through Oasis Note, Standard Chartered offers investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a portfolio of hedge funds using the CSFB-Tremont Hedge Fund Index. The Index ensures that assets of the Oasis Note fund are allocated by size to the best performing, largest available, market neutral hedge funds. The multi-manager approach also means that the fund always has a strong collection of top managers working for the customers.
“We are very excited about Oasis Note. It allows us to give our customers access to a diverse collection of high performance investment vehicles”, said Ray Ferguson, chief executive officer at Standard Chartered Bank UAE.
While the term of the investment is long, at seven years, the Index-based approach gives customers the confidence that the Oasis Note fund includes the best performing funds available, the bank asserts.
The 100 percent capital guarantee provides additional comfort that, at maturity and regardless of the performance of the fund, their capital is safe. Investment protection of 100 percent of capital is applicable only on maturity and is provided by Credit Lyonnais, Paris (S&P ‘A' rating).
In the UAE, Standard Chartered has a network comprising seven branches and 22 automated teller machines (ATMs). The bank provides investment services, credit cards and personal loans, as well as cash management trade finance and treasury products and services in the UAE.
Standard Chartered PLC, an international emerging markets bank, employs over 28,000 people in over 500 offices across more than 50 countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, United Kingdom and the Americas. The Bank serves both consumer and wholesale banking customers. – (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
