Autism Trust Foundation, an UK-registered body with boards of directors in the UAE and Canada, has signed an agreement with top Swiss bank, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB), for designing the charity linked investment structure.

The socially-relevant initiative will allow 50 per cent of the net returns on investments of the investor being donated to the Dubai Autism Centre (DAC), the first organization selected by the Autism Trust Foundation to benefit from its investments programme in the UAE.
 
This is the first and only charity-linked investment product of its kind in the world, said the officials after signing the deal at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in the presence of officials of Autism Trust Foundation board, DIFC and Dubai Autism Centre (DAC).

As per the scheme, the investor has to open an account with the LLB and deposit the amount the respective person intends to keep in the account. This investment will be utilized by the Swiss bank to invest into the risk-adjusted strategy with guaranteed income generated by a portfolio of Gulf Cooperation Council bonds, with the net income will be split 50:50 between the investor and DAC.

The investor is free to donate the entire net income on the investments to the DAC.

There is a minimum amount to be invested of $500,000 under the scheme and the investor can withdraw the investments at any time, subject to normal market conditions.

Fahed Bin Al Shaikh, deputy chairman and CEO, Autism Trust Foundation, said: "We are confident that this initiative will generate overwhelming response from our investors as it ensures the safety of their investments and also contributes to a great social cause."

"This will help in ensuring uninterrupted funds to the DAC in order to ensure the sustainability of the largest organization for autistic children in the Middle East.  We are confident that individuals and corporate organizations will extend their support to this social responsibility project," he added.

Nico Tschui, LLB chief representative in Abu Dhabi, said: "We are very pleased to be involved with such an initiative which has tremendous social relevance and will help raising funds to DAC which is extending a wide-range of services to autistic children and their families."

"We have been operating in the UAE – Abu Dhabi and Dubai- and strongly believe that this initiative provides an ideal opportunity to network with the community and contribute towards its development,” he added.

The DAC, formed in November 2001 following an official decree by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is presently located on Al Diyafah Street, off Satwa. It houses 48 autistic children with more than 219 children on the waiting list.-TradeArabia News Service