FSL Asset Management launches Commodity Fund to channel capital into agriculture
From left Fatai Yussuff (Head of Marketing FSL Asset Management, Tola Odukoya (CEO FSL Asset Management) Sunday Kadiri (Funds Manager FSL Asset Management)
Abdullateef Fowewe
FSL Asset Management has officially launched its novel Commodity Fund, a strategic investment vehicle designed to channel non-bank capital into Nigeria’s agricultural ecosystem while providing retail and institutional investors with regulated exposure to high-yield commodity instruments.
The announcement was made during an interactive media briefing at the company’s office in Lagos, where the Chief Executive Officer of FSL Asset Management, Adetola Odukoya, briefed journalists alongside key members of the executive team.
The briefing was supported by other company executives, including the Team Lead, Fund Operations, Sunday Kadiri; Head, Sales and Marketing, Yussuff Abdulfatai; and Head, Brands and Communications, Victor Adaha.
The management team outlined the firm’s strategy to bridge the multi-billion-naira funding gap facing agribusinesses across the country.
Operating as an open-ended unit trust scheme under the guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Fund focuses primarily on securitised agricultural contracts, commercial papers issued by leading agribusinesses, and exchange-traded commodities listed on registered platforms such as the AFEX Commodities Exchange and the Lagos Commodities Exchange.
The fund requires a minimum initial subscription of N5 million for high-net-worth individuals and qualified institutional investors, with a minimum holding period of 90 days.
Addressing journalists at the launch, Odukoya said the fund was developed to address two major market challenges: providing cheaper, flexible and patient capital for agricultural production and processing, while protecting everyday investors from unregulated, high-risk commodity schemes that have proliferated in recent years.
He said, “Agriculture accounts for roughly 25 to 30 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and remains a key driver of economic growth, yet the sector continues to face severe capital constraints.
“With this commodities fund, we are creating a transparent, SEC-regulated gateway that allows investors to earn competitive real returns from high-growth agricultural assets while providing much-needed, lower-cost financing to legitimate operators across the agricultural value chain.”
The launch also coincided with the introduction of the FSL Balanced Fund, a N2 billion open-ended scheme designed to target moderate capital growth through a diversified portfolio of equities, fixed-income and money-market instruments.
The minimum subscription for the Balanced Fund is set at 100,000 units, equivalent to N100,000, with a 90-day holding period.
The two new products bring the asset manager’s total active mutual funds to four, complementing its existing Money Market Fund and Eurobond Fund.
FSL Asset Management traces its roots to a unit within Fidelity Bank before restructuring following Central Bank of Nigeria directives on non-core banking operations. It now operates as a key subsidiary under FSL Capital, a holding group with more than 38 years of operational history.
The asset management arm currently manages more than N50 billion in total assets under management and has an investment manager rating of Triple-B by Agusto & Co.
With shareholders’ funds above N2 billion, the company is also executing an ongoing capital build-up programme aimed at achieving the N5 billion minimum capital requirement for tier-one asset management firms.
Odukoya confirmed that further product additions, including dedicated equity and fixed-income funds, are scheduled for release before the end of the year.
