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Asset manager Franklin Templeton launched seven feeder funds in the UAE yesterday, giving retail investors access to a diverse range of asset classes, including global and regional fixed income, technology, and Shariah-compliant strategies, Bloomberg reports. The funds are domiciled in the Dubai International Financial Center.
The details: The feeder funds will be available through locally licensed promoters, including onshore, conventional, and Shariah-compliant consumer banks. Standard Chartered acts as the feeder fund’s administrator and custodian, Bloomberg quotes EMEA head of wealth solutions at the bank Ayesha Abbas as saying.
Franklin Templeton’s focus on the UAE — its largest retail market in the region — is part of a strategy to deepen relationships with local clients and offer more tailored investment options, given the country’s population surge, the business information service quotes Franklin Templeton MENA head of retail Amar Mehta as saying. The asset manager will “continue to monitor trends in the local market and the evolution of investors’ appetite to expand our offerings in the future,” he said.
REMEMBER- The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) issued a decision in April prohibiting funds and asset managers outside of the UAE from being publicly offered for retail subscription in the UAE. Domestic feeder funds — essentially a sub-fund that pools investment capital under a larger umbrella fund — are one way retail investors can gain access to foreign master funds.
Efforts to boost asset management are paying off: The regulation — aimed at boosting the UAE’s asset management industry and aligning it with Gulf standards — has prompted several UAE-based other asset managers to launch feeder funds. Allianz Global Investors and Daman Investments launched two onshore feeder funds for retail investors last month, while Aditum Investment Management debuted four public funds in the DIFC, with Standard Chartered acting as fund administrator and custodian. Standard Chartered also partnered with securities depository Clearstream to include UAE-based funds on its Vestima platform enabling retail clients to invest in locally-domiciled funds.
That’s not all: Aditum Investment Management and UK manager Fundsmith are launching a new UAE-based feeder fund, dubbed Fundsmith Global Equity Fund IC Open Ended, in 3Q 2024, Citywire reported last week. The fund will offer retail investors access to Fundsmith’s global equity strategy, which focuses on investing in blue-chip equities.
