Dubai Shariah Asset Management (DSAM) has opened up its flagship Kauthar Gold Fund to retail investors following the completion of a three-year track record, Mena FM can exclusively reveal.
The $40m fund is the region’s only Shariah-compliant hedge fund to offer weekly liquidity with a minimum investment of $5,000. The fund was established in January 2009 with a seed investment from the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). At the end of December 2011, the fund had generated an average annual return of 25.93%
“Based on our research, we understand that our Kauthar Gold Fund is the only Shariah-compliant gold equity fund in the world,” Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the DMCC, told Mena FM. “To the best of our knowledge it is also the best performing gold equity fund in the Mena region.”
DSAM is a joint venture between Dubai Commodity Asset Management (DCAM), a wholly-owned division of the DMCC and US manager Shariah Capital. The firm is now targeting UAE-based IFAs for distribution, and had signed agreements with Skandia International and Mondiale at the time of writing.
“It will only be distributed in the UAE initially,” said Eric Meyer, chairman and CEO of Shariah Capital. “Then we’re going to focus on the idea of finding another distribution partner, whether its in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia or Indonesia.”
Meyer told Mena FM that DSAM’s next goal is to expand the presence of its Al Safi Shariah-compliant hedge fund platform. “I am determined that we will expand our Shariah-compliant platform that allows not just our funds but other funds,” he said. “I’d love to have 20 funds on the platform.”
