Abu Dhabi-based investment company Waha Capital has launched an open-ended, Shariah-compliant, income generating Islamic fund.

The new fund - Waha Islamic Income Fund SP – will invest in Shariah-compliant assets across sukuk and equity markets and is expected to attract more than $500 million. 

Amr AlMenhali, CEO of Waha Capital, said: “While our existing funds have some Shariah-compliant elements in them, there has been a steadily growing demand from our existing clients over the past couple of years for us to develop such a fully-fledged Islamic fund.”

“The new fund will be well received because it avoids investment in prohibited or controversial activities or assets and business sectors that may be considered as particularly risky or potentially volatile. It will also only invest in entities that have relatively low gearing,” AlMenhali added.

The new income generating Islamic fund, adds to the existing three funds from Waha Capital.

The Waha Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) Credit Fund, which invests in emerging markets, achieved a cumulative return of over 180 percent the end of 2019, the company said in a statement to the media.

The Waha MENA Equity fund which was launched in 2014 has achieved a cumulative return of 175 percent since inception and MENA Value Fund SP fund produced a return of 25.34 percent in 2019 and an overall 56.1 percent since its launch in 2019, it said.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)

seban.scaria@refinitiv.com

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.

© ZAWYA 2020