Deals of the Week: Investment fund opens door to gold bullion

Investors in Mashreq Bank's new fund will also get free life insurance cover.

Gold is continuing its run as the world's hottest commodity and with the rush of investors seeking a safe haven during the financial turbulence, it's no wonder.

The latest gold investment vehicle to hit the UAE market is from Mashreq bank. Called Mashreq Gold Gain, it offers customers an alternative to investing in physical gold. The product also comes with a free life insurance policy for investors that is underwritten by Royal Skandia.

"Gold has emerged as an important asset class during these turbulent times," says Nimish Dwivedi, the head of personal banking at Mashreq.

"With this offering, customers not only get the benefit of investing in gold but also get the dual advantage of a free life insurance cover with their investment."

Mashreq customers can invest an annual lump sum of Dh26,000 in Gold Gain, or can make monthly payments starting from Dh1,200.

The Dubai-based lender, the emirate's second-biggest bank by assets, says the free life insurance amounts to 10 times if the investment is made as a lump sum and 100 times if payments are made on a monthly basis. The maximum limit of the life insurance is capped at Dh1 million.

"This is a unique and relevant offering that will appeal to all investors looking at including gold as an asset class in their investment portfolio," Mr Dwivedi says, adding that there is no lock-in period or withdrawal penalty.

The move by Mashreq to cash in on the Emirates' love of gold follows the announcement earlier this month by Al Hilal Bank that it had unveiled the country's first in-bank Gold To Go vending machine.

For more information, go to www.mashreqbank.com.

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Emirates NBD (ENBD), the country's biggest bank by assets, has tied up with gridzDIRECT, a subsidiary of Gridz, an IT and telecoms solutions company, to make shopping online more secure.

The deal follows ENBD's launch of a new security feature for its Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cardholders. ENBD says its DoubleSecure feature adds another layer of security to prevent the unauthorised use of its cards.

"With the highest focus on offering extensive protection against fraud on its debit and credit cards, Emirates NBD strives to ensure stress-free online transactions and customer peace of mind," says R Sivaram, the head of cards business at ENBD.

"Given the increasing use of cards online, we believe it is important to add an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorised use. DoubleSecure requires customers to confirm their identity as the authorised cardholder and ensures the purchase can be completed only with password identification."

GridzDIRECT is an e-commerce site that focuses on consumer electronics and will be offering ENBD customers a dedicated page on its website that showcases special deals.

For more information, go to www.gridzdirect.com/enbd.