Dubai: Afkar Capital Limited, the Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm has launched the Afkar S&P UAE UCITS ETF, the first liquid, fully tradeable and transparent exchange-traded fund listed under the UAE’s new regulations.
The exchange traded fund (ETF) will list on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Wednesday June 29, under the symbol ‘UAETF’ and has been designed to replicate the S&P UAE BMI Liquid 20/35 Capped Index.
The index includes the largest stocks by capitalisation in the UAE, providing exposure to the UAE economy. There are no entry or exit fees in the secondary market.
“We have extensively collaborated with various market participants in general and the three leading institutions, namely Afkar Capital, BNY Mellon and S&P Dow Jones in particular to create a favourable regulatory framework for the listing and trading of ETFs based on best practices,” said Essa Kazim, Chairman of DFM.
UAETF is regulated under the European Union’s UCITS Regulation. It is also governed by the rules and regulations of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA), the ADGM, the DFM, and the Central Bank of Ireland.
“ETFs provide investors with the transparency and simplicity of a stock combined with the diversification of a fund,” said Sylvain Vieujot, Founding Partner and Non-Executive Chairman at Afkar Capital. “The ETF comprises a wide basket of equities that you can buy and sell with a single click through your brokerage account, just like a stock. We will publish our full holdings online on a daily basis,” he said.
BNY Mellon was appointed fund administrator, Irish trustee, transfer agent and global custodian for the fund. “UAETF provides investors with balanced exposure to the second-largest market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) in terms of both capitalisation and liquidity,” said Seif Fikry, Chief Executive Officer of Afkar Capital and Founding Partner.
