Norrenberger Group, an asset management firm, on Tuesday, had its Islamic Fund (NIF) and the Turbo Fund (NTF) listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Both funds are collective investment schemes (CIS) registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The NIF is designed for investors with a short—to long-term investment horizon who prioritise adherence to Shariah principles, while the NTF is a mutual fund focused on fixed income assets such as bonds.
Speaking at the NGX during the closing Gong Ceremony by Norrenberger Group to commemorate the listing of the funds, the firm’s Acting Managing Director, Pabina Yinkere, described the listing as a significant milestone in the history of the organisation.
He said the listing will help the asset management firm to broaden its reach as it provides investment solutions through the mutual funds.
Yinkere said Norrenberger is poised to have at least one of its products in every Nigerian household.
He said, “So for the Islamic fund, the objective is to invest in an ethical way, to invest in line with the principles of Islamic finance.
“But generally, it’s not only for Muslims or people of the Islamic faith. Anybody can invest it in it, because the overriding fundamentals of this fund, what it simply means, is that, you are investing in an ethical manner, investing in instruments or avenue that does not support gambling, that does not support pornography, that does not support crime, and dealing in ammunition and things like that.
“So it makes it a very ethical investment for just anybody, not only for Islamic people of the Islamic faith, and for the Turbo Fund, what it does, it provides an avenue for investors to be able to access a market that is seemingly out of reach of many individual investors.”
Yinkere said both funds are top performers in their respective category and “since we started these funds, they’ve ranked consistently in the top quarter of performance in their respective categories.”
The CEO of NGX, Jude Chiemeka, applauded Norrenberger for deepening the market by creating additional instruments for the investors in the Islamic finance.
“We have 63 mutual funds that are listed on our exchange and that begin to speak to our desire to create opportunities for retail investors to invest in our market. We have five Islamic products that are listed.
“Islamic finance is an area the exchange is really committed to and we must commend Norrenberger for deepening that market for us by creating an additional instrument that investors can trade.
“Islamic finance has helped the federal government through the issuance of Sukuk. Over a trillion naira has been reached on this market and we can see the effect of the funds that have been raised as they have been trying to refurbish most of the roads that we use in the country,” Chiemeka said.
The CEO added that given the inflation and interest rates in the country, it is high time retail investors thought of putting their investments in instruments like mutual funds.
Culled from DailyTrust