Agrani Bank gets green light for mutual fund

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday approved the prospectus of a Tk 100-crore closed-end mutual fund sponsored by Agrani Bank.

Of the total value, Agrani Bank will sponsor half of fund, while the rest or Tk 50 crore will be raised from investors through initial public offering.

ICB Asset Management Company is the issue manager of the fund styled 'ICB AMCL First Agrani Bank Mutual Fund', the stockmarket regulator said in a statement.

The state-run Investment Corporation Bangladesh or ICB is the trustee and custodian.

A mutual fund is a professionally managed collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors and invests it in stocks, bonds and short-term money market instruments.

Presently, there are 35 mutual funds listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, accounting for only about 1 percent of total market capitalisation.

In another development, the BSEC fined IIDFC Securities Tk 5 lakh for violating securities rules.

The regulator also directed the stock exchanges, Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies and Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association to post "investment guidelines" on their websites to create awareness among the investors.

The BSEC in the guidelines said investors should make their investment decisions based on company fundamentals, technical analysis, price level and disclosed information.

The investors should avoid rumour-fed speculation and follow the securities rules strictly. They should not put their money only in one security or in one sector. Investors should take advice from market professionals, if necessary, or visit financialliteracybd.com for more details.