Seif Fikry, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chimera Capital LLC, an Abu-Dhabi-based asset management firm and subsidiary of Chimera Investments LLC, today rang the market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of its Umbrella Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) - Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF- Share Class B – Income, on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The Class B units have been listed on the DFM under the trading symbol (CHAESHIN). The fund replicates the S&P UAE Domestic Shariah Liquid 35/20 Capped Index, including the UAE largest stocks by market capitalization.

Mr. Hassan Al Serkal, CEO of DFM as well as Seif Fikry, Chief Executive Officer of Chimera Capital attended the bell ringing ceremony along with senior representatives from both sides.

The fund’s Class B distributes to investors any collected dividends from investments in companies included in the S&P UAE Shariah Index, which tracks the performance of UAE liquid equities, enabling investors to unlock opportunities of a new and promising asset class in the UAE financial markets.

Mr. Hassan Al Serkal, CEO of DFM, said: “We are delighted to welcome this significant step with the listing of Chimera Capital’s ETF, in line with DFM’s strategy to diversify asset classes providing investors with a new financial instrument to invest in leading companies in the UAE. The diversification of our product offering, including the rapidly growing global ETF sector, is one of the key pillars of DFM’s strategy.

“We look forward to seeing this drive gaining further momentum supported by DFM’s world-class infrastructure as well as its favorable and attractive regulations for the listing and trading of ETFs and other asset classes in cooperation with the regulatory authority and investment institutions. The listing of the dividend distributing Class B of Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF will provide the DFM’s large and diversified base of local and international investors with a new product to invest in companies represented in the S&P UAE Domestic Shariah Liquid 35/20 Capped Index.

It is noteworthy that the ETF sector is gaining strong presence worldwide with its assets growing from US$ 204 billion in 2003 to approximately US$ 6.18 trillion in 2019.

The Chairman of Chimera Capital LLC commented: “We are pleased to bring to market the first ETF tracking a Sharia-compliant index in the UAE, which opens a new wholesale investment opportunity to a unique investor profile. The Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF will allow investors to capitalize on the prospects of the UAE’s economy.”

The Index is structured and built by S&P and monitored by a Shariah Board that meets regularly to review and rebalance the index quarterly to guarantee that the securities in the index are both liquid and Shariah compliant.  Currently the index has ten securities across the UAE markets, allowing investors a single access point to a balanced portfolio of Shariah compliant liquid UAE securities as per S&P Shariah Board guidelines”.

It is noteworthy that the reference price of the ETF units will be updated on a daily basis prior to the trading session as per the up-to-date indicative Net Asset Value (iNAV). The price limits of 15% up and 5% down are applied on the ETF units from the first day of listing. The fund is regulated and governed by the rules and regulations of the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and the Dubai Financial Market.