IDLC launches new scheme for retail investors

IDLC Investments yesterday formally introduced a monthly investment product -- Easy Invest -- for the retail investors, especially those who have limited knowledge on the capital market.

Easy Invest offers an individual investor an opportunity to deposit a minimum of Tk 3,000 a month, which IDLC will trade in a structured manner for them and reduce the risks for cost averaging over a long time.

It is a discretionary portfolio management product that will build a portfolio over time, with small investments at regular intervals.

The newly launched product is designed to attract small savers and bring people who lost hope since the market crash five years ago back to the stockmarket, said Arif Khan, managing director of IDLC Finance that owns IDLC Investments.

“This is a new concept in our country, even though it is popular in India -- commonly known as systematic investment plan,” he said at the launch of Easy Invest.

The product is for those investors who have little or no knowledge about the stockmarket or do not have much time to follow the market, he added.

“IDLC has always been in pursuit of innovating new products to change the lives of people in our society with its little capacity,” he added.

Addressing the function, Mirza Azizul Islam, a former caretaker government adviser, said the capital market is still in a better situation than the money market, considering the rate of return on investment.

On the other hand, he said, it is difficult for the retail investors to maximise the rate of return from stockmarket investment, after analysing the risk factors. “So, Easy Invest is an ideal product for the retail investors.”

However, Easy Invest is not similar to any fixed deposit scheme, which means any profit or return on investment is not guaranteed.

Highlighting the key features of the product, Md Moniruzzaman, managing director of IDLC Investments, said the inflation rate and the interest rate on fixed deposits is almost the same. “The depositors can hardly generate any 'real return' from FDRs.”

As a fund manager, IDLC will follow a disciplined and structured investment process, and reduce the risk of market volatility, he said, adding that the product comes at tenures of three years, five years and 10 years.

With the monthly investment plan, an individual will also get rebate on income tax and tax exemption on capital gains.

Easy Invest is also offering 'accidental death' and 'accidental insurance' coverage of up to Tk 1 lakh a year. An 'auto debit' instruction facility eliminates the need for physical submission of cheques or cash.

IDLC Finance has been in Bangladesh for the last 30 years, with a strong presence in the capital market for more than 17 years.