As part of its initial offer to regional investors, AGI will market two new Shariah-compliant equity funds: the Allianz RCM Islamic Global Emerging Markets Equity fund and the Allianz RCM Islamic Global Equity Opportunities fund. The new funds are based on two strategies offered by the firm; the Allianz RCM Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund and the RCM Global Equity Unconstrained Shariah strategy.

AGI is the asset management arm of the German giant Allianz group, with $1.4 trillion under management.

Nick Smith, head of fund distribution at Allianz Global Investors (UK), said: “We are very committed to building a long term business in the region by offering the best of our global asset management capabilities together with a very high level of local service.  We believe that clients increasingly want access to the most sophisticated asset management expertise whether applied to well-established funds investing in core areas, or applied to newer, more innovative funds investing in specialist areas.”

The firm sees growing demand over the long term for Shariah-compliant funds, especially those based on proven strategies investing in promising areas and also believes that recent equity market corrections have provided a good entry point for investors. Despite some volatility in the short term, its medium to long term view on equities is very positive.