The Group Managing Director of Afrinvest, Ike Chioke, has said that the appetite for Sharia-compliant funds was high in Nigeria.
Chioke said this at the launch of the company’s latest mutual fund, the Afrinvest Halal Fund, which is an open-ended unit trust scheme offering 25 million units at N100 per unit, totalling a public offer size of N2.5bn.
The PUNCH in May reported that Series VII of the Sovereign Sukuk of the Federal Government recorded an unprecedented subscription level of over N2.21 tn, representing an oversubscription of 735 per cent.
Speaking at the press conference to announce the launch of the fund, which has received regulatory approval, Chioke said, “First and foremost, it is an ethical fund. It’s also for people who believe that money should not go into companies that are manufacturing weapons, for example, or manufacturing X-rated movies that are not appropriate. It’s not because you’re Muslim; even Christians believe that as well.
He explained further, “When you see the demand for the FGN Sukuk, you can then understand that there’s a clear appetite for this sort of ethical investment.
That oversubscription that we witnessed at the last Sukuk offering tells you there’s a latent demand for this sort of faith-based product. We are coming to a market that needs many more investment advisors to come in and create products that meet the structures and the tenets of Islamic finance but also support other faith-based investors.”
The Managing Director of Afrinvest Asset Management Limited, Chris Omoh, said that the firm is committed to returning maximum returns to investors.
“Our goal is to ensure that the fund is able to return the maximum profit for investors,” he said.
An internal Sharia analyst at Marble Advisory Limited and representative of the Advisory Committee of Experts, Mustakeem Thanni, also called for more entrants into the space.
“Sharia-compliant investment is still small, and we need a wider audience and more businesses or investment companies to come in. With the Afrinvest Halal fund, it will give Muslims or ethical investors who want their returns to be in line with their faith opportunities to invest in Sharia-compliant products,” he said.
Foluso Ogundele, from the custodian of the fund, Zenith Bank Plc, assured investors of the safety of the assets of the fund and also emphasised the need for more players in the ethical investment space.
“Basically, our role is to ensure the safekeeping of the assets of this fund. So that in itself will boost investors’ confidence to invest in this product and also commend the team of Afrinvest for coming up with this structured product. The market is actually vast, because we have a lot of ethical investors, and the market is not yet deeply penetrated,” Ogundele said.
The Managing Director of Afrinvest Research & Consulting, Abiodun Keripe, in his comments at the press briefing, noted that investors in the fund would be benefiting from the 30-year fund management experience of the firm.
“What makes this mutual fund different is that you have 30 years of experience coming on board, providing professional management for this particular fund; this is something that most products elsewhere do not have. So, those investing in this fund are able to leverage this 30-year expertise, cutting across strategic sectors and asset classes within the ethical investing space to provide superior performance and returns.”
The fund is designed for investors who wish to grow their wealth in accordance with Islamic principles. It adheres strictly to Shari’ah investment guidelines and is supervised by an Advisory Committee of Experts, a body comprising renowned Islamic scholars with both national and international experience. The ACE issues a certificate of compliance annually, ensuring the fund’s alignment with Shari’ah ethical standards. The fund is open-ended, offering flexible entry and exit. Subscribers may redeem their investment at any time after the 90-day lock-in period, with payouts processed within five business days.
