How NRBs Can Invest in Bangladeshi Mutual Funds: A Step-by-Step Guide

NRB INVESTING · STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

By N. M. Al Hossain, Director & Chief Business Officer, with Kazi Ahsan Maruf, CFA, Managing Director, Ekush Wealth Management Limited. NAV and return figures as on 9 November 2026.

Millions of Bangladeshis living abroad send money home every month. Much of it goes into land, flats, savings certificates or bank deposits held in a relative's name. These choices feel safe, but they are hard to sell quickly, hard to manage from abroad, and often earn less than inflation after tax.

Open-end mutual funds offer a different route. Your money is managed by a BSEC-licensed professional team, every unit is priced daily at its net asset value (NAV), and you can buy or sell on any working day. Since August 2020, Bangladesh Bank has formally allowed non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) to invest in open-end mutual funds and take the money back abroad through a dedicated account. This guide to NRB investment in mutual funds in Bangladesh explains how to plan, what to choose and how to invest, step by step.

1. Before you invest: five questions to ask yourself

• What is the money for? Returning home in five years, supporting parents, a child's education or retirement all call for different mixes.
• How long can you stay invested? Money needed within a year or two belongs in stable income assets. Equity needs at least three to five years.
• Will you need the money in Bangladesh or abroad? This decides which account route you should use (Option A or Option B below).
• What does your country of residence tax? Some countries tax worldwide income. Check how fund gains are treated where you live.
• How much currency risk can you accept? Your returns are earned in taka. If you will eventually convert back to dollars, pounds or riyals, exchange rate movements matter (see Section 7).

2. Know your risk: ability versus willingness

Risk has two sides. Risk ability is how much loss your finances can absorb: your income stability abroad, your emergency savings, your family responsibilities and your time horizon. Risk willingness is how much fluctuation you can live with emotionally. A young professional with a secure job abroad may have high ability but low willingness; a retiree may be the reverse. Your plan should follow the lower of the two.

The free Ekush Financial Planner does this for you. You enter what you already own, such as land, flats, FDRs, savings certificates, shares and cash, and answer a short set of questions. The planner scores both your ability and willingness, suggests a target asset allocation and matches it to Ekush funds. You can download the result as a personal investment plan and share it with your family in Bangladesh.

3. Two building blocks: stable income and growth

Ekush offers two clear approaches, and most NRBs will use a combination of both.

Stable income portion: Ekush Stable Return Fund (ESRF). ESRF is a fixed income fund. It invests in government securities, bank and NBFI fixed deposits, corporate bonds, preference shares and other interest-bearing assets. It pays no dividend; all income is reinvested and shows up as growth in NAV. Management fee: 0.5% a year.

Growth portion: Ekush First Unit Fund (EFUF) and Ekush Growth Fund (EGF). These are actively managed equity funds. They shift between shares and fixed income (equity 30% to 95%) based on market valuations and stock-by-stock research. EFUF follows a value-led approach; EGF takes a more aggressive equity tilt and is more volatile. Management fee: 1.25% a year.

All three funds have no exit load, use Sandhani Life Insurance as trustee and BRAC Bank as custodian, and are governed by the BSEC (Mutual Fund) Rules, 2025.

These mixes are examples only. Use the Financial Planner or speak to Ekush for a mix based on your situation.

4. Performance record

All returns below are total returns after all fund expenses, with dividends treated as reinvested.

Source: ekushwml.com. Annualised figures are calculated from the since-inception return. FDR benchmark modelled at 9.5% a year, compounded, before tax.

Two points stand out. EGF returned 52% while the DSEX fell almost 23% over the same period, a gap of nearly 75 percentage points. And ESRF has beaten a 9.5% FDR by more than 16 percentage points since March 2023. For a regular monthly investor, a ৳ 10,000 SIP started in March 2023 earned an effective annual return (XIRR) of 16.90% in EFUF, 17.57% in EGF and 14.00% in ESRF up to August 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

5. SIP, SWP and liquidity

• Lump sum or SIP. Invest a one-time amount, or set up a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) that invests a fixed amount every month. A monthly SIP suits NRBs who send money home regularly: part of each month's remittance builds long-term wealth automatically, and buying at different NAVs averages out your cost.
• SWP for regular income. Once your investment has grown, a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) pays a fixed amount monthly, quarterly or half-yearly while the rest stays invested. It is a practical way to support parents at home or to create your own income after you return.
• Fully saleable in 3 business days. You can sell all or part of your units on any working day at the prevailing NAV. Proceeds reach your bank account within 3 working days, and there is no exit load on any Ekush fund.

6. How to invest: two routes

Option A: You already have a bank account in Bangladesh

If you hold a savings or current account in Bangladesh in your own name, you can invest through the normal banking channel, entirely online.

• Register on the Ekush investor portal.
• Complete KYC online: upload your NID (or passport), photograph, nominee details and bank account details (cheque leaf or statement).
• Open your BO account if you do not already have one (see "Your BO account" below).
• Transfer money from your bank account to the fund account shown in the portal and place your buy order (lump sum or SIP). Units are allotted at the NAV.
• Track and sell anytime from the portal; sale proceeds are credited to your linked bank account within 3 working days.

Option A is the simpler route when you plan to use the money in Bangladesh, for family support, future expenses or your eventual return home.

Option B: No Bangladeshi bank account? Use a NITA

A Non-Resident Investor's Taka Account (NITA) is a special taka account that Bangladesh Bank allows NRBs and foreign investors to use for portfolio investment. Under FE Circular No. 33 of 20 August 2020, NITA balances may be used to buy units of BSEC-approved open-end mutual funds. Since Bangladesh Bank's FEID Circular No. 05 of 10 August 2023, authorised banks are expected to let NRBs open and operate NITAs through online platforms.

• Open a NITA online with a reputed authorised dealer bank such as BRAC Bank PLC (custodian to all Ekush funds) or another leading bank. Most banks also open a foreign currency account alongside it.
• Remit foreign currency from abroad through the formal banking channel. It is converted into taka and credited to your NITA, creating the inward-remittance record you need for repatriation later.
• Register on the Ekush portal (portal.ekushwml.com) with your passport and KYC documents, and link your NITA and BO account.
• Invest from your NITA in ESRF, EFUF or EGF. Units are issued at the NAV, and Ekush reports the issue to Bangladesh Bank within 14 days as required.
• Sell and repatriate. Dividends (after tax) and sale proceeds are credited back to your NITA, from where the money can be sent back abroad.

Your BO account

Mutual fund units are held electronically in a Beneficiary Owner (BO) account at the central depository (CDBL), so you need one to receive and hold Ekush units. NRBs can open a BO account online with a passport; many banks, including BRAC Bank, can open the NITA and BO account together. If you already have a BO account for shares or IPOs, you can simply use it.

7. Understand currency risk

Your fund earns its return in taka. If you later convert the money back into your home currency, the exchange rate matters. Suppose a fund returns 12% a year in taka. If the taka weakens by 4% a year against the dollar, your return in dollar terms is about 7.7%. If the taka holds steady, you keep the full 12%. Currency movements can work both ways, so match the share of money you will eventually take abroad to the risk you can accept. Money you plan to spend in Bangladesh carries no currency risk.

Quick checklist for NRB investors

• Define your goal, time horizon and where you will spend the money.
• Run the Ekush Financial Planner to set your stable-versus-growth mix.
• Choose your route: Option A (local bank account) or Option B (NITA, with full repatriation).
• Keep your NID or passport, photograph, nominee details and bank or NITA details ready.
• Open or link your BO account.
• Start with a lump sum, a monthly SIP, or both. Review once a year.

Disclaimer: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Past performance is not indicative of future results. NAV can go up or down. This article is for general information and is not personal investment, tax or legal advice. Foreign exchange and repatriation are governed by Bangladesh Bank rules in force at the time; please read the fund prospectus and confirm current requirements with your bank before investing. Ekush Wealth Management Limited is a BSEC-licensed asset manager (License BSEC/AMC/2019/44; Custodian: BRAC Bank PLC; Trustee: Sandhani Life Insurance Company Limited).