By Dipo Olowookere
An ethical investment targeted at retail investors has been introduced by United Capital Plc, a notable player in the Nigerian capital market, especially in the fund management sector.
The new investment scheme is called the United Capital Sukuk Fund and with N10,000, low-income earners who which to partake in the robust capital market can subscribe.
The open-ended mutual fund is Sharia-compliant as the capital from the investment would be used to purchase Islamic bonds (Sukuk) issued by the federal and state governments.
Since the federal government started the issuance of the Sukuk in 2017, it has always received massive subscriptions from investors.
At the last exercise held in June, the Debt Management Office (DMO) received subscriptions worth N669.1 billion for the N150 billion it auctioned, representing a subscription level of 446 per cent.
Because of the huge market for this ethical investment, United Capital created this Sukuk fund and it said for investors willing to buy more than the minimum N10,000 subscription, they would be required to buy in multiples of 5,000 units at N1 each.
According to the Regional Director, Northern Region at United Capital, Mr Mahmoud Shuaib, the company will not invest Sukuk fund in businesses or instruments disallowed by the Sharia law, noting that the idea is to allow ethical investors to maintain their beliefs and earn competitive returns on their investments.
As the Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital, Mr Peter Ashade, put it, the fund was designed to meet the demands of its Muslim clients for ethical investments in the nation’s capital market.
He assured that the company will “continue to develop products that will meet the diverse flavours of our clients,” describing the United Capital Sukuk Fund as “a step in the right direction.”
Also, the Group Executive Director of the firm, Mr Sunny Anene, assured that the company will bring to bear its wealth of experience in the fund management ecosystem.
