Dawood Money Market Fund (DMMF) has topped the money market fund industry for the past half-year and does not look to be slowing down. Averaging an industry best for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 (5.97 per cent) and half-year ended December 31, 2004 (7.23 per cent), DMMF is a favoured investment choice, says a press release issued here on Monday. It reads, "We have always kept a low profile in the market," states the chief executive officer (CEO) T Uzra Dawood adding "and have concentrated on building our track record and working hard to excel in terms of performance."

It may be noted that DMMF was launched in May 2003 by Dawood Capital Management (DCM - then known as Pakistan Venture Capital Limited) with a fund size of Rs 300 million and has grown well over Rs 1.2 billion based primarily on word of mouth. DCM is sponsored by Asian Development Bank and First Dawood Investment Bank Ltd.

According to release, the DCM is planning to launch its first closed-end balanced fund First Dawood Mutual Fund of Rs 500 million. The pre-initial public offering (pre-IPO) of Rs 375 million has already been subscribed by leading corporations, financial institutions and individuals. The IPO of Rs 375 million will be offered to the general public in the second week of March 2005, the release cincluded.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005