Russian investment group Kapital, owned by FC Spartak's Owner Leonid Fedun, has launched a sports investment fund that allows Russian individuals to invest in stock of major sports teams, sports apparel manufacturers, etc. The new fund, Capital, the World's Sports Industry, said it intends to offer investors the opportunity to invest in the likes of ManU and Borussia Dortmund and hopes to attract 10M rubles ($314,000) within the first three months of operation and about 100M rubles ($3.14M) within the first six months. The minimum investment is 10,000 rubles ($314).
ROSTER NOT SET: At the moment, the list of companies in whose stock individuals will be able to invest is not certain. What is known is that the proportion of one company will not exceed 10%. About 30% of the fund’s entire portfolio will be made up by Russian companies, most likely by bonds issued by sponsors of major sports teams. Analysts say the idea of a sports investment fund could work, although it's unlikely to bring about a new trend. "In principle, the idea is interesting," Investment group UNIVER Capital Head of Analytical Research Dmitry Aleksandrov told SBD Global, pointing out that the fund is being launched at a time when people's interest in investment funds has substantially declined in Russia and it comes as more of an "idea" product. Aleksandrov: "I don't think there will be an active growth in funds of that kind. This would rather be an attempt to check niche interests of retail investors."
Vladimir Kozlov is a writer in Moscow.
