Draft prospectus of Grameen Bank-Aims' micro savers growth fund okayed

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has approved the draft prospectus of Grameen Bank-Aims First Unit Fund, an open-ended mutual fund aiming to channel micro savings into the capital market for generational wealth creation.

The securities regulator on Tuesday informed that sponsor Grameen Bank has already given Tk100 crore to build the Tk157.5 crore fund. Besides, Tk18.12 crore would be taken through private placements and Tk39.38 crore would be collected from the public.

Aims of Bangladesh Limited, the first private sector asset management company in the country, is the asset manager of the fund, while Sandhani Life Insurance and Brac Bank are the trustee and custodian, respectively.

"Alongside building our own state-of-the-art technology platform, we have partnered with major fin-tech firms in the country so that micro savers from every walk of life can deposit as low as Tk100 every week or month under a long-term systematic investment plan," said Yawer Sayeed, the managing director of the asset manager.

"No need to visit us, no need to come to the capital city from remote villages. One can invest with us from any corner of the country and that should be a breakthrough in the financial inclusion in the capital market," he added.

In its decades-long journey, the Bangladesh capital market could attract more than 1% of the population, despite the comparatively higher gross national savings rate of 30%.

The fund units during the initial public offering would be sold at the face value of Tk10 each and later the buying and selling of the units would be based on the net asset value per unit.

The asset management company would keep receiving investments under separate plans – one-off investments, systematic investment plan (SIP) – a certain amount at a regular interval, and also under cumulative investment plans (CIP) which is the reinvestment of dividend income into the same mutual fund.

Grameen Bank-Aims First Unit Fund would be focused on stable investment and long-term return for hardworking people, said Yawer Sayeed, adding that the fund would also be opened to wealthy individuals or entities who are looking for ways to beat the inflation over years.