The National Investor launches region's first AED100m TNI Dana Women Fund

Open only to UAE and GCC national women, the open ended fund provides access to the local, regional and international securities market in a balanced manner. The Fund will invest 60% in publicly traded stocks of UAE and GCC based companies, 20% in international fixed income securities, 10% in international equities and 10% in international hedge funds.

Outlining the reason behind the launch of the fund, Mrs. Fatima Obeid Al Jaber, Member of the Board, The National Investor, said: "Global examples abound where women and women's investment clubs are active and successful players in the capital markets. This region is no exception and we are responding to many requests we have received from Arab women to tailor a portfolio to their investment needs and risk tolerance. They should have an opportunity to gain access to our booming capital markets and this fund is designed to give them that exposure in a balanced and professional manner."

Commenting on the benefits of offering investment opportunities to women in the region, Mrs. Sara Mohamed, Vice President, The National Investor, said: "The aim of the TNI Dana Women Fund is to provide long-term growth and create savings so that the dependence on borrowing is reduced. The fund also encourages financial independence and provides an alternative source of retirement income for Arab women."

"In assembling our investment universe, equities will be selected on the basis of various criteria, related to the firm's market capitalization size, liquidity level, fundamentals, earnings performance and future prospects. Investments in international fixed income securities will be exclusively directed to investment grade issues and have been included to mitigate the risk and reward ratio," Mrs. Sara added.

As placing agents and Fund Managers, TNI has designed the fund to provide women investors with a unique investment vehicle to access investment opportunities leveraging TNI's leading market position and distinguished track record. The Fund will offer a professional asset management approach and exposure to the firm's extensive investment banking, private equity and portfolio management experience across the UAE and other GCC member-countries. It will also provide women investors with unique opportunities, timely execution, risk management and professional management of their wealth. The initial offering price is AED10 and the minimum investment is 50,000 units.

"TNI has established a consistent track record in managing local equities and has delivered continuous positive returns with a recorded return of substantially more than 100% in 2004, widely outperforming the local equity index. The TNI Dana Women's Fund leverages our superb track record of managing listed equities and provides women investors with access to an entirely new investment universe," concluded Mrs. Sara.

The National Investor has recently been awarded the "Best Private Equity House in the Middle East" by Banker Middle East magazine and "Best Equities House in the UAE" by Euromoney.