BNY Mellon named fund administrator, transfer agent, trustee and custodian for ETF based on S&P index; ETF is poised to list on the Dubai Financial Market
Afkar Capital Limited, the Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm, has launched the Afkar S&P UAE UCITS ETF, the first liquid, fully fungible, fully tradeable and transparent exchange-traded fund listed in the Middle East under the UAE's new regulations.
The exchange traded fund (ETF) will list on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Wednesday June 29th 2016 under the symbol "UAETF" (Bloomberg: UAETF UH Equity) and has been designed to replicate the S&P UAE BMI Liquid 20/35 Capped Index (Bloomberg: SPUAECAN). The index includes the largest stocks by capitalization in the United Arab Emirates, providing exposure to the UAE economy. There are no entry or exit fees in the secondary market.
His Excellency Essa Kazim, Chairman of DFM said: "Dubai Financial Market is delighted to welcome this significant step from Afkar Capital, in line with our strategy to provide investors with innovative and diversified investment products. We have extensively collaborated with various market participants in general and the three leading institutions, namely Afkar Capital, BNY Mellon and S&P Dow Jones in particular to create a favorable regulatory framework for the listing and trading of ETFs based on best practices. We are pleased with Afkar Capital's decision to list the first foreign Exchange Traded Fund on DFM, which further strengthens the market's leading position as the most favored listing venue for companies in the UAE and beyond."
"ETFs provide investors with the transparency and simplicity of a stock combined with the diversification of a fund," said Sylvain Vieujot, Founding Partner and Non-Executive Chairman at Afkar Capital. "The ETF comprises a wide basket of equities that you can buy and sell with a single click through your brokerage account, just like a stock. We will publish our full holdings online on a daily basis," he added.
"The UAETF provides investors access to one of the most well-known indices tracking the Abu Dhabi Exchange (ADX), the DFM and Nasdaq Dubai," said Afkar Capital Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner Seif Fikry. "UAETF provides investors with balanced exposure to the second-largest market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in terms of both capitalisation and liquidity."
Fikry credited the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) with providing a stable platform for UAETF and the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) and Dubai Financial Markets (DFM) for providing a hospitable environment for the ETF's launch.
BNY Mellon was appointed fund administrator, Irish trustee, transfer agent and global custodian for the fund.
Fikry added that BNY Mellon's expertise in helping to create ETFs and its global capabilities were key factors in its selection.
"BNY Mellon has a long history supporting the unique servicing needs of ETFs," said Tarek Sherlala, BNY Mellon's Head of Asset Servicing for the Middle East and Africa. "Our advanced technology and highly regarded services are supporting Afkar's launch of this exciting initiative."
As of March 31, 2016, BNY Mellon supported 35 issuers offering 605 separate portfolios in the U.S., Europe and Asia with a total of $286 billion in net assets.
Fikry also noted that S&P Dow Jones Indices is one of the world's largest providers of financial market indices.
"S&P Dow Jones Indices is pleased to be the index provider for this groundbreaking ETF launched by Afkar Capital," said Charbel S. Azzi, Head of Middle East, Africa & CIS of S&P Dow Jones Indices. "UAE is one of the most dynamic economies in the Middle East and we are proud to play a part in supporting its development and broadening investor choice here with our world-class expertise in index design and governance."
UAETF is regulated under the European Union's UCITS Regulation, one of the world's most well-known regulatory frameworks. It is also governed by the rules and regulations of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA), the ADGM, the DFM, and the Central Bank of Ireland.
Mr. Steve Barnett, Financial Centre Development Director, Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM said, "We congratulate Afkar Capital on launching its first ETF in the Middle East. With the increasing use of ETFs among family offices, intermediaries, such as private banks, financial advisers, platforms, and retail investors, we look forward to Afkar Capital and our member firms to introduce future products and contribute towards the liquidity and vibrancy of our capital market."
Authorized UAETF participants include EFG Hermes, Mubasher Financial services and NBAD Securities.
As UAETF enters into its activation phase, the fund will publish a INAV on a daily basis and will publish a live INAV throughout the trading day.
Further details about UAETF and Afkar Capital may be found www.afkar.capital.
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Afkar Capital Limited is the first licensed financial services company in the Abu Dhabi Global Marketand provides incubation services to start-up funds, allowing talented fund managers to launch new products backed by a world-class institutional framework. Afkar Capital brings new ideas and innovation to life in the exciting fund management industry. More on Afkar Capital can be found here: www.afkar.capital
Dubai Financial Market (DFM) was established as a public institution with its own independent corporate body. DFM operates as a secondary market for the trading of securities issued by public shareholding companies, bonds issued by the Federal Government or any of the local Governments and public institutions in the country, units of investment funds and any other financial instruments, local or foreign, which are accepted by the market. The DFM commenced operations on March 26, 2000. Following its initial public offering in November 2006, when DFM offered 1.6 billion shares, representing 20 per cent of its paid-up capital of AED 8 billion, DFM became a public joint stock company. Following the IPO, the Government of Dubai retained the remaining 80 per cent of DFM Company through Borse Dubai Limited. www.dfm.ae
BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of March 31, 2016, BNY Mellon had $29.1 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Learn more at www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on its indices than based on any other provider in the world. With over 1,000,000 indices and more than 120 years of experience constructing innovative and transparent solutions, S&P Dow Jones Indices defines the way investors measure and trade the markets. S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit: www.spdji.com
Media Contacts
Afkar Capital Limited
Seif Fikry
+971 50 550 1512
seif@afkar.capital
Dubai Financial Market
Atef Fathy
+971 04-3055334
afathy@dfm.ae
BNY Mellon
Malcolm Borthwick
+44 20 7163 4109
malcolm.borthwick@bnymellon.com Mike Dunn
+1 732 667 2678
mike.g.dunn@bnymellon.com
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Charbel S. Azzi
+971 4 3727130, +971 50 4583402
charbel.azzi@spglobal.com
© Press Release 2016
