Provider Spotlight: Daman Investments

First in our new series profiling the licensed providers of the UAE's alternative End of Service Benefit (EOSB) savings scheme — one Fund Manager at a time, in alphabetical order.

Daman Investments has a fair claim to the title of “first mover” in this market. Alongside Lunate (which we will profile later), Daman Investments was one of the first two providers to win CMA approval to manage EOSB savings funds, back in July 2024 — and it's been building the fund infrastructure ever since. So, who is Daman Investments, and what do they offer?

Who is Daman?

Daman started life in 1998 as Daman Securities, a Dubai brokerage founded by Shehab Gargash. It converted into Daman Investments PSC in 2007 and grew into a full-service asset manager: equities, fixed income, MENA strategies, Shariah-compliant structures, and a partnership with Allianz Global Investors along the way. It's still anchored by the Gargash family, with a board that mixes senior UAE officials and business figures — a combination of independence and establishment connections that's served it well through several market cycles.

The EOSB offering

Daman's End of Service Program currently gives employers two fund choices, both built around capital preservation:

• Conventional Money Market Fund — invests in US Treasuries and deposits with highly rated banks in the UAE and developed markets.

• Shariah-Compliant Money Market Fund — invests in Wakala deposits and short-term Sukuks from highly rated issuers.

Both are labelled as “capital guarantee” funds, which matters because it means they're open to all employees under the scheme — including blue-collar workers earning under AED 4,000/month. Remember - under the new EOSB scheme, unskilled workers can only be enrolled in such capital-protected options. That also makes them a sensible pick for anyone with a short investment horizon.

That said, it's good to know that Daman has said more risk-based funds — with conservative, moderate and more aggressive allocations, are coming soon. All of these will come in two flavours - as conventional and Shariah compliant versions, hence catering a broad set of options to the broadest set of clients.

mployees will also be able to top up their own contributions voluntarily, and to keep investing with Daman even after they've left the employer that first enrolled them.

On the numbers: at the time of writing, Daman's own fund performance page is still marked “coming soon,” so we can't yet quote a return figure for either fund. Let's watch this space.

Who's behind the scenes

Two names worth knowing: Standard Chartered acts as custodian bank, holding employee savings securely, while Zurich Workplace Services (ZWS) handles plan administration and the technology platform. ZWS is well known as they already power the DIFC's workplace saving scheme (DEWS) about which we recently wrote.

It's fair to say that either partner is very solid indeed, as both are large global firms - giving piece of mind to employers and staff alike.

The bottom line

Daman has excellent UAE pedigree, and was first out of the gate in the new EOSB market. The company is a mature asset manager, and offers currently two capital-protected funds covering the full workforce. Daman is partnering with two top-notch international firms who provide banking and admin services, and a whole range of new funds are planned to be launched soon.

Please watch out for further provider profiles which we will be publishing shortly.

For help comparing and evaluating providers for your organisation please get in touch with us.

GratuityAdviser is operated by Lux Actuaries Financial Consulting L.L.C., which holds a Category 5 (Financial Consultations and Introductions) licence from the UAE Capital Markets Authority.