BNP Paribas Investment Partners expands its offer in Islamic investments with launch of a private placement fund

The first fund in the range is a private placement fund, investing in sukuk and murabaha. With this development, BNPP IP continues to grow its range of Islamic fund management solutions.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners has reaffirmed its commitment to Islamic asset management and will continue to build out its Sharia-compliant product range. The recently launched Sharia-compliant private placement fund aims to outperform US dollar 3 Month Libor by 100 basis points (net of fees) over the recommended minimum investment horizon by investing in high quality sukuk (in USD or non-USD currencies) and in US dollar-denominated murabaha structures.

The sukuk and murabaha structures will be mainly issued in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries by corporations and governments. The management of this new fund is delegated to Fischer Francis Trees & Watts (FFTW), the Global Fixed Income specialist of BNPP IP.

"We are convinced that Islamic investors, although they continue to focus on equities, will benefit from diversification and will turn to other strategies, such as the ones used in this fund. We are keen to develop our Islamic offering and to expand our distribution of these products globally, especially in the Middle East and in South East Asia where we have already seen strong interest," said Tariq Al-Samahiji, CEO of BNPP IP - Middle East.

"We endeavour to offer customised solutions to all our clients, to listen to their needs and adapt our range of funds to their requirements. Thus, we will continue to build out our Islamic asset management offer, adding both conventional and alternative strategies," he added.

BNPP IP's strategic commitment to Islamic finance is in line with that of the BNP Paribas Group, whose involvement in Sharia-compliant finance dates back to 1985 in GCC countries. Supported by its own Sharia supervisory board, BNP Paribas Najmah was created in Bahrain in 2003 to consolidate the Group's global offer of high-quality Islamic investment solutions in GCC countries.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners' commitment to Islamic investments is further strengthened with the inception of BNP Paribas Islamic Asset Management in Malaysia and the joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with SAIB BNP Paribas Asset Management.

"With the help of our JV in Saudi Arabia and by using the combined effort of our asset management capabilities in South East Asia and in the Middle East, we will continue to launch new Islamic products to complement our existing strategies, such as the BNP Paribas Islamic Equity Optimiser Funds and EasyETF DJ Islamic Market Titans 100," said Vincent Camerlynck, Global Head of Business Development at BNPP IP.

"We will also leverage our experience advising i-VCap Sdn Bhd on the listing of MyETF Dow Jones Islamic market Malaysia Titans 25, Asia's first Islamic ETF. Islamic investments represent a strategic priority not only for us at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, but indeed for the BNP Paribas Group," concluded Camerlynck.