By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- Merchant Banking and Asset Management business of FBN Holdings Plc, FBNQuest said on Tuesday it has launched two new mutual funds – the FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund and the FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund.
The Asset Management firm said both mutual funds will create diversification and US dollar investment opportunities locally.
“The FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund is a pure equity fund which invests money predominantly in a portfolio of Nigerian companies by using a rigorous, research-based and tested evaluation system to determine the most investible stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,” FBNQuest said in a statement.
While, the FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund is a fixed income fund which predominantly invests money, and generates income as well as capital appreciation in USD denominated debt instruments issued by the Nigerian Government and Corporate bodies.
According to FBNQuest, this means clients can invest their USD directly in the fund, as current income from the fund’s underlying securities provides attractive returns. It added that unit holders will also receive returns in USD from semi-annual dividend income.
Michael Oyebola, managing director and chief investment officer of the Asset Management business said the key value propositions of the two (2) new funds are to allow both individuals and institutional investors take advantage of opportunities on dollar instruments and the stock market, which may not be readily accessible due to high minimum investment amounts; and enable them achieve profitable diversification of their investments.
According to FBNQuest, the Smart Beta Fund will invest money across all sectors, and investors will be able to purchase and sell units in the Funds throughout their existence. “In line with the company’s commitments to encouraging savings and financial inclusion, the Smart Beta fund has a minimum investment of N50,000, while the Eurobond Fund requires a minimum of $1000 for retail investors and $100,000 for institutional and High Networth investors,” the company said.
“We have introduced these funds as we seek to create value-driven connections with our clients by helping them look beyond today. Being a member of one of the strongest and most dependable financial groups in Africa, our goal is to constantly provide solutions to support their evolving needs, and the opportunities for diversification through these two (2) new funds further affirms our client-centric approach to service delivery,” Oyebola stated.
Shares of its parent company FBN Holdings Plc at the close of trading on the Nigerian Stock exchange (NSE) grew 1.37 percent to N3.70 per share from N3.65 per share traded the previous session; gaining 0.05 kobo per share.
