Trade Bank Of Iraq Partners With Alpen Asset Advisors To Launch The Dananeer Fund

The Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) has announced the launch of Dananeer Fund, a USD 100 million investment portfolio fund in partnership with Alpen Asset Advisors.

It is aimed at experienced corporate or individual investors who understand its mechanics and the strong potential returns it can offer over a four-year period.

Dananeer Fund is legally structured as a Segregated Portfolio Class B of the investment fund company Alpen Asset Advisors SPC based in Cayman Islands regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). The fund will benefit from statutory segregation of assets and liabilities between portfolios and hence, mitigates the risk of cross liability between portfolios and will allow investors to subscribe or redeem their investments on a monthly basis.

The investment objective of the Dananeer Fund is to generate absolute returns through underlying investments in the USD denominated Government of Iraq Bond. The Fund endeavors to pay out semi-annual dividends to the investors from the coupons received from the bonds net of the fund costs.

TBI will offer its high net worth clients and institutions the opportunity to invest in the 2023 Iraqi Sovereign Bonds by investing a minimum of 150,000 USD on their behalf into ‘Dananeer Fund’, the first of its kind fixed income fund, as a nominee for the underlying investors.

Dananeer fund is one of the several long term options TBI is looking to invest to meet the challenges of the financial market in the region factoring in the volatility of economic and political conditions. TBI strategy aims to reduce its intensity through diversification of investment to include various sectors.

Faisal Al Haimus, Chairman & President of Trade Bank of Iraq said: “Through the support of our network of international institutions and strong relationships with companies and banks across the world, we have provided a gateway for international businesses to gain access to opportunities in the growing Iraqi market while allowing local businesses to get access to western markets by providing our financial expertise.

"I am pleased to launch this new investment scheme offering our clients with an opportunity to diversify their investments and potentially increase their returns.

“The funds leverage the existing knowledge of our investment team along with Alpen Asset Advisors’ expertise on segregated fund assets globally.

“This partnership is conclusive evidence of the commitment of the Trade Bank of Iraq in attracting more investments into Iraq and a source of confidence in the Bank's long-term strategy, which focuses on contributing to the continued development and economic growth of Iraq.”

The fund, designed to strengthen the role of TBI in creating new investment links between Iraq and rest of the world, is part of TBI’s long term strategy and continued commitment towards the upliftment of the Iraqi economy.

Rohit Walia, Executive Chairman of Alpen Asset Advisors said: “This partnership enables us to expand our assets under management and broaden and diversify our scope of fund offerings.

“Through our collaboration with TBI we have been able to expand our activities including equity and wealth management consulting to Iraq.”

The Dananeer fund is an open-ended fund which allows investors to subscribe or redeem their holdings on a monthly basis. TBI will pay semi-annual dividends to bond investors after deducting a service fee of 5 to 7 percent.

The independent portfolio started on August 16, 2018, and the subscription started on June 24, 2019, and subsequent subscriptions can be completed on the last three working days of each month to obtain the net asset value (NAV) for that month.