Best Mutual Funds in UAE

Mutual funds are pooled securities managed by professional fund managers. When you invest in mutual funds your capital is combined with other investors’ money. Fund managers actively manage the portfolio so that the investment goals of clients are met. Mutual funds are a good option for people that don’t want to invest in stocks themselves or have no time to do this. There are local, regional and international mutual funds that invest in different sectors and markets. To sum it up, mutual funds enable traders to invest in a diversified set of assets fast easy and quick.

In this guide we go over the best mutual funds for UAE investors. If you are new to investing, we recommend to check this article on how to invest in mutual funds first.

How to Invest In Mutual Funds in UAE?

1. Investing in International Mutual Funds

You can invest in international mutual funds on your own via a mutual fund broker and platform. If you are a beginner we recommend investing with the help of a financial advisor. They can advise you on which funds match your risk profile and investment goals.

If you are investing on your own, here are the best performing international mutual funds with minimum investment bellow $3000 are: Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct, Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Fund, Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index, Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I and Fidelity 500 Index Fund.

2. Investing in Local UAE Mutual Funds

You can invest in local UAE mutual funds via local investment companies that specialize in investing in the MENA and GCC regions. These investment firms offer Islamic and Sharia-compliant funds. We have listed the best UAE mutual funds below:

The Best Mutual Funds in UAE

• Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct (NASDX)
• Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Fund (IRLNX)
• Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index (FNCMX)
• Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I (IILRX)
• Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX)

This section breaks down the best international mutual funds in UAE, starting with the best rated – Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct (NASDX).

1. Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct (NASDX)

The Shelton Nasdaq-100 Index Direct fund tracks the performance of non financial-primarily tech companies in the Nasdaq 100 Index. Over the last decade this funds stands out with its strong performance, which started back in 2000.

2. Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Fund (IRLNX)

IRLNX  invests at least 80% of its net assets in the equity of companies, as well as convertible securities. It tracks the performance of large US-traded companies

3. Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index (FNCMX)

FNCMX invests at least 80% of assets in common stocks included in the NASDAQ index. The advisors use statistical sampling techniques to create a portfolio that represents the entire index. The fund lends securities to earn income.

4. Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I (IILRX)

The fund has similar investment portfolio as the Voya Russell Composite Index. The main diffrence is that fund is more focused on the companies with higher value (not with higher growth potential as IRLNX)    

5. Fidelity 500 Index Fund (FXAIX)

The Fidelity 500 Index Fund tracks the S&P 500 index. It is one of the main benchmarks for U.S. stocks. The fund provides returns that are like the  performance of the S&P 500. As of May 18, 2022, the fund has assets totaling almost $366.26 billion invested in 509 different holdings

You can invest in mutual fund using an online brokerage account (trading platform) or through a investment bank. Here is our list of the best mutual funds trading platforms.

How Did We Select The Best Funds?

Below are our main criteria we considered when selecting the best funds:

• Fund has to available to residents of UAE
• 5 star rating according to MorningStar
• MaxFunds rating above 90 points (out of 100)
• No sales load (commision)
• Expense ratio is bellow 0.60%
• Minimum investment is bellow $5000
• We were measuring funds according to 5year annulized performance 

Best Funds Compared Side By Side In Main Categories

Mutual Funds	Ticker	MAX Rating	1y	3y	5y	10y	Expense Ratio	Min Invest.	Type	Category	Morning Star
Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct	NASDX	98	-7,4	21,7	17,2	18,2	0,51	1000	No Load	Large Growth	5
Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Fund	IRLNX	100	-3,7	19,9	16,9	16,5	0,43	0	No Load	Large Growth	5
Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index	FNCMX	95	-11,4	18,4	15,2	16,7	0,29	0	No Load	Large Growth	5
Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I	IILRX	91	-1,5	16,8	13,7	14,4	0,36	0	No Load	Blend	5
Fidelity 500 Index Fund	FXAIX	98	0,3	16,13	13,4	14,4	0,02	0	No Load	Blend	5
Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company Index Fund	SFLNX	97	4,2	18,4	13,4	14,1	0,25	0	No Load	Large Value	5
Vanguard Growth & Income Inv	VQNPX	93	0,8	16,8	13,4	14,4	0,31	3000	No Load	Blend	5
Vanguard Equity Income Fund	VEIPX	93	8,4	14,8	11,5	13	0,28	3000	No Load	Large Value	5
Vanguard Value Index Fund	VVIAX	91	5,4	14,3	11,4	13,2	0,05	3000	No Load	Large Value	5
Fidelity Emerging Market Fund	FEMKX	87	-23,3	8,3	7,2	7,1	0,88	0	No Load	Emg. Markets	5
DSP BlackRock Global Allocation Fund			-12,29	7,61	6,47	5,16	2,1	0	No Load		5
Vanguard Dividend Growth Inv	VDIGX	97	5,8	14,6	13,5	13,7	0,27	3000	No Load	Blend	4
DFA US Large Company I	DFUSX	99	-0,4	16,4	13,3	14,3	0,08	0	No Load	Blend	4
Northern Stock Index	NOSIX	98	-0,4	16,3	13,3	14,3	0,1	2500	No Load	Blend	4
T. Rowe Price Equity Index 500	PREIX	95	-0,5	16,2	13,2	14,1	0,16	2500	No Load	Blend	4
PIMCO Commodity Real Ret Strat Instl	PCRIX	61	43,1	23,6	13,1	1,5	0,73	1000	No Load	Nat. Resources	4
T. Rowe Price Dividend Growth	PRDGX	85	1,5	14,5	13	14	0,62	2500	No Load	Blend	4
Fundsmith Equity			0,19	5,97	9,49	16,02	0,94	100	No Load	Blend	4
Fidelity Global Dividend Fund			2,6	5,26	6,17	11,4	0,93	0	No Load	Blend	4
Ardevora Global Equity Funds			0	2,92	6,73	13,03	1,09	0	No Load	Global Equity
Schroder Mid Cap US Fund			0	7,32	6,6	13,42	1,83	0	No Load	Blend
Invesco Perpetual Asian			0,73	8,12	5,55	10,53	1,7	0	No Load	Equity

Conclusion

Investing in mutual funds is a great choice for investors to diversify their investment portfolio, get their investment managed by professionals and reach better liquidity.

The best mutual funds in UAE are Shelton NASDAQ-100 Index Direct, Voya Russell Large Cap Growth Index Fund, Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Index, Voya Russell Large Cap Index Port I and Fidelity 500 Index Fund.