Meezan Bank & Al Meezan Investments jointly launch
‘Meezan Capital Protected Fund’!
Karachi, May 05: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s largest Islamic Bank has launched country’s first Shariah compliant Capital Protected Fund jointly with Al Meezan Investment Management (Al Meezan Investments), the Asset Management subsidiary of Meezan Bank. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Meezan Capital Protected Fund is expected to start on 19th May and would continue till 21st May.
President & CEO of Meezan Bank, Mr. Irfan Siddiqui formally announced the launch of Meezan Capital Protected Fund in a press conference at a local hotel today. Also present on the occasion were COO of Meezan Bank, Mr. Ariful Islam and CEO of Al Meezan Investments Mr. Mohammad Shoaib.
Irfan Siddiqui said that Meezan Capital Protected Fund-I (MCPF-I) is Pakistan’s first Shariah compliant capital protected fund, jointly developed by Al Meezan Investments Pakistan’s largest Shariah compliant asset management company and Meezan Bank.
He informed that MCPF-I is an open-end mutual fund with a maturity period of three years and six weeks. MCPF-I provides investment opportunities to investors who desire protection of their capital and are willing to invest for relatively longer periods and also want to get the benefit of potentially higher returns of the stock market. He added that protection of principal amount invested in this fund will be provided by Meezan Bank, which has got a long-term entity rating of A+, and a short-term entity rating of A1.
CEO of Al Meezan Investments, Mr. Mohammad Shoaib said that Meezan Capital Protected Fund will provide maximum protection to the investors as for capital protection 70% to 80% of the initial fund size will be placed through a Murabaha structure with Meezan Bank. He said that the balance amount will be invested in Shariah compliant equities in order to generate healthy returns. Based on the backtracking exercise of the fund structure, MCPF-I is targeting returns higher than the returns being offered by debt/income funds and bank deposits, Shoaib added.
He said that MCPF-I will adhere to the Shariah guidelines laid by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Meezan Bank. The Bank has an internationally renowned, very high caliber and pro-active Shariah Supervisory Board presided over by Justic (Retd.) Maulana Muhammad Taqi Usmani, a renowned figure in the field of Shariah, particularly Islamic Finance. He holds the position of Chairman of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions and in his long and illustrious career has also served as a Judge in the Shariat Appellate Bench, Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Bank also has a resident Shariah advisor, Dr. Imran Usmani, who strictly monitors the regular transactions of the Bank. The board also includes Sheikh Essam M. Ishaq (Bahrain), and Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah (Saudi Arabia).
Al Meezan Investments has been in operation since 1995 and has one of the longest track record of managing mutual funds in the private sector in Pakistan. The total assets under management of Al Meezan Investments are currently over Rs.18,000 million. It also has the distinction of managing Meezan Islamic Fund, the largest private sector equity fund in the country. It is also the only asset management firm with the sole mandate of providing Shariah compliant investment solutions in the country.
Meezan Bank presently has 102 branches in 31 cities across Pakistan All branches are ‘on- line’ and are supported by state of the art 24/7 Banking services to all its customers, which includes 90 ATMs, Internet Banking and a Call Center that operates 24 hours a day seven days a week. Meezan Bank offers a comprehensive Debit Card that is accepted at over 3,000 outlets across Pakistan.
Investment in Meezan Capital Protected Fund can be made from any branch of Meezan Bank and Al Meezan Investments offices. Investors can get more details about the product through toll free number 0800-42525 (0800-HALAL). You can also surf our websites www.meezanbank.com or www.almeezangroup.com and apply for MCPF - I accordingly.