Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) has launched what it says is Europe’s first Shariah-compliant money market fund.
The Luxembourg-domiciled Sicav-Sif is managed by Jason Kabel and available to institutional and professional investors in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. It already has $50m (£29.4m, €34.7m) in assets under management.
BLME said the fund aims to provide a competitive level of income and security by investing in a diverse portfolio of high quality Islamic money market instruments, and sukuk, or Islamic “bonds”.
Head of asset management at BLME Nigel Denison said the fund had been launched in response to market demand.
Such products appeal in particular to Muslim investors, for whom Islamic compliance is a necessity.
First fund for BLME
The BLME Shariah Dollar Income Fund has been up and running on a seed portfolio basis since 17 March and is currently generating a yield of 4.71%. It is the first fund to be launched by BLME, an independent, London-based wholesale bank founded in 2007 by a team of international financiers and Islamic finance experts.
Kabel joined BLME in 2008 from F&C Asset Management, where he had been a manager of money market funds within the firm’s credit team, and looked after approximately £6bn in Oeics, Sicavs, collateral funds and segregated client mandates.
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IA FUND FACTS:
Name: BLME Shariah Dollar Income Fund
Domicile: Luxembourg
Minimum investment: €125,000
Type of fund: Open-ended Sicav-Sif
Launch date: 17 March 2009
Manager: Jason Kabel
Managed against: 3-month Libor
AUM: $50m
