2nd Islamic Wealth Management Event to take place in Geneva

February 2006, Cologne

PLACE & DATE
The 2nd Islamic Wealth Management Event will be held at the Mandarin Oriental Hôtel du Rhône, Geneva, Switzerland, on 28-29 March, 2006.

EVENT OBJECTIVES
The Islamic Wealth Management program addresses Islamic banking & finance, and how they integrate with the wealth management and private banking industries. Geneva—the world’s capital of private wealth management—is home to an estimated $200 billion or more in Muslim-owned private accounts, and is the ideal location for private bankers, fund providers, regulators and other professionals directly or indirectly involved in Islamic Wealth Management.

ISLAMIC WEALTH MANAGEMENT
In the last 20 years Islamic finance has grown to an estimated $300 billion in bank balance-sheet assets worldwide (separate from off-balance-sheet private accounts). According to the General Council for Islamic Financial Institutions the total will exceed $1 trillion by 2013.

Singapore and Dubai—relative newcomers to the wealth management scene—are working diligently to develop systems & expertise to manage Muslim wealth. Despite Geneva’s dominant position in managing private Muslim accounts, the city still has a long way to go before it can claim full expertise in Islamic Wealth Management. The Islamic Wealth Management Event is meant to assist private bankers & asset managers in Switzerland and throughout Europe to understand this critical, fast-moving sector of the asset management industry.

MAIN TOPICS
This year the Event’s main seminar will focus on four topics:

· Family offices for Islamic clients: How do they differ from traditional family offices?
· Alternatives to Fixed Income for Islamic Wealth Management
· The use & availability of absolute return products
· Poverty alleviation: Philanthropy or investment opportunity?

The global fund & alternative investment industry is gearing up for catering to Muslim clients and their specific needs to comply with sharia rules. Providers of these investment products will offer replacements for bonds—a cornerstone of traditional western wealth management—an entirely new way to help Muslims achieve their investment objectives while remaining in compliance with Islamic terms.

Several sharia-approved hedge fund sponsors will also discuss how they adapted & provided their solutions. Plus, poverty alleviation—a specific objective of Islamic finance—in the form of microfinance is added as its own new asset class with non-correlated risk/return profiles.

Four workshops are offered before and after the Event’s seminar:

· Introduction to Islamic finance
· Shariah compliant asset management
· Family offices
· Intercultural training





SPONSORS
Lead Sponsor: Encore Management S.A., Geneva
Silver Sponsor: TILP Limited
Silver Sponsor: IVG Immobilien AG (largest listed real estate company in Germany)

ORGANIZER & HOST: Michael Gassner Consultancy
Michael Gassner Consultancy is the leading research and advisory firm on Islamic finance in Germany. It publishes Islamic Finance.de Executive News, the most widely read Islamic finance online periodical with a monthly circulation of over 2,000. The firm works with financial institutions to develop and structure products based on Islamic banking & finance principles, yet supported by a general understanding of the objectives and principles of Islamic law. Michael Gassner Consultancy also actively provides marketing advise, roadshow organization & training for banks, asset managers, private banks and related professions. For more information, visit www.islamicfinance.de.

EVENT BROCHURE
Please visit www.islamicfinance.de/islamiwealthmanagement.pdf for a copy of the Event’s brochure.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS
Michael Saleh Gassner +49-7000-42-77-637
John A. Sandwick: +41-79-203-8811

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Please contact Michael Saleh Gassner at the number noted above.

This release was published on openPR.