Bonds.... National Bonds

I was tinkering over the web this past few days, wait lemme rephrase that, these past few forever, and ended up in a site called www.nationalbonds.ae. 

I have heard about national bonds from a long time now, and I actually have this one friend who tried convincing me to invest in it. After 2 days reading and studying the details of NB (NATIONAL BONDS), I was pretty convinced that this is the place where I should invest what little money I have.

You can visit the website for more information.... Or you can just read the simplified version of it on my post... he he

1. So what exactly is NB?

-National bond in itself is a saving certificate which represents the money that you have invested. These money are being held, managed, and invested by National Bonds Corporation PJSC. Each bond / certificate / share costs 10 AED and the minimum amount that you can start saving with is 100 AED of 10 bonds.

2. Where will they put my money? 

-They have pointed many times in their website that NBC PJSC follows the principles of Shari'a. That means  they invest your money as per Islamic principles, on low risk in a balanced investment portfolio which are supervised by a Sharia board and an investment committee. So here they are basically assuring us that they make sound investments on morally sound, credible, and reliable companies. Few of the establishments on which they have invested on are Taaleem PJSC (http://www.taaleem.ae/about-taaleem), M'sharie (http://www.masharie.com/english.html), and Souk Extra (http://souqextra.com/en/about-us/our-story). And I just found out, our very own Filipino Digerati  http://www.dpinoy.org/ is also being sponsored by them. 

3. What will I earn in saving via National Bonds?

-According to their site the annual rate return on the Savings Scheme of National Bonds for 2012 was 2.62%.  
This percentage is divided into 2 parts:
(A) 1.5% of it is the return or profit rate. This is tentative and is calculated at the end of every fiscal year. This earning is then distributed to all its members on the first quarter of every year. 
So for example, let's say you are to save 500 AED/month for 1 year, you are to get 6090 AED by the first quarter of next month.

(B) 1.12% are earnings through prizes and incentives. Every bond you buy is also eligible to enter the various contests that they have. As of the moment, these are the contests that every bond holder can enjoy:
1. 1,000,000 AED to win every first Sunday of the month.
2. 2 gold prizes worth 100,000 AED to be won every second Sunday of the month. **Exclusive to ladies
3. 2 BMWs every 3rd Sunday of the month.
4. 2 tuition fee worth 50,000 AED each to be won every 4th Sunday of the month. **Exclusive to students of course coz you don't need tuition fee if you not a student hello.. obvs.
5. 50 AED to be won every minute. **I haven't won any of these prizes yet.

4. Hmmm that sound nice.... Where do I sign up?

-Just visit any of the 620 outlets, including Emirates Post offices, leading exchange houses, and banks to become part of the National Bonds family. Or you can do everything online, just like what I did. 

5. Steps please!

-1. I called their hotline, 600-522279, and followed their IVR instruction for "New Accounts". I then spoke with one  of their relationship officers named "Ayesha".

2. After giving her my contact details, she sent me the application forms together with National Bonds' ENBD (bank) account number to me so I can send my initial payment. 

3. I sent the money, screen copied the payment receipt, filled up their forms, sent a copy of any of my IDs (Passport Copy, UAE driving license, UAE Labor Card or UAE ID) and sent everything via email. Just to make sure, I also sent a copy of it by fax. Hehehe
Below are their contact details.
E-mail: transfer@nationalbonds.ae
              cc@nationalbonds.ae
Fax: +971 4 384 8855

Ayesha confirmed to me that she received them and said she will follow up with me after 2 days if I am already a member. 

4. After 2 days, she called me up to congratulate me for being their newest member, and she also sent an email to confirm everything. I asked if I can keep buying bonds via ENBD as it is more convenient for me, and she agreed. Actually, this payment method is not stated on their site, but I already made another transfer this month and everything went well. 

6. OK.... So let's say I wanna withdraw my money... And no, noooot for new shoes! Whatchathink of me? For emergency purposes only of course... How do I go about it?

-For redemptions of 10,000 AED and above, you need to call 600-522279. For 10,000 AED and less, you can get instant cash redemption by visiting selected branches of Al Ansari Exchange or UAE Exchange. Redemption request should be 100 AED or above. 

There you have it! My idiot's guide to knowing National Bonds! I hope I simplified it enough for both of our understanding!