Its managing director and country head Leslie Yap believes this is a realistic target given the market conditions.

He believes the fund will be driven by an increasing environment social governance (ESG) interest from investors.

“Malaysia is an Islamic finance hub, so why not offer a syariah fund. In addition, institutional investors have also expressed interest in the ESG and syariah fund,” he told the media at the launch of the fund today.

Despite the challenging market conditions Yap pointed out the asset management firm will take a valuations-based approach in its stock selection.

He said there is no salient target but anticipates a 3% to 4% return over the fund’s benchmark, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Developed Markets Index.

Nomura stated the fund is available in Malaysia and will be offered in two currency classes. In the ringgit class, the minimum initial investment is RM1,000 while that for the US dollar class is US$1,000.

It will be supported by Nomura Asset Management United Kingdom (UK) Ltd, the investment adviser to the fund.

“It will provide investment research and stock recommendations in accordance with the investment objectives and within the investment restrictions and limits of the fund,” it said.

The total asset under management (AUM) of Nomura Asset Management in Malaysia stood at RM29 billion as of May 31, 2022.