The Jeddah-based ZAD Investment Company is to launch two new funds in the second quarter of 1995 that will offer Gulf citizens the opportunity to invest in international and US equity securities. The new funds will complement the group's existing funds that have been launched during the past 12 months.

The ZAD International Equity Fund, one of the two new funds to be launched, aims to offer long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of international equities. This excludes the US and emerging markets.

The second fund, the ZAD US Blue Chip Equity Fund, is also aiming to offer capital appreciation, but will focus on companies within the US, included in the S&P 500 Index. Each company must also have a market capitalisation of more than $1,000 million. The final details for both funds are still being worked out, including the dates of launch.

ZAD already manages three other offshore funds. The open-ended US Equity Fund was incorporated in March 1994, and concentrates on equity-related securities, including warrants and debt securities.

All the securities are listed on a principal exchange in the US or Canada, although the Canadian investment is not expected to exceed 15 per cent of the fund's capital, which is planned to reach $100 million. The fund will concentrate on small and medium size companies. The investment adviser is ZAD's California-based subsidiary ZAD Asset Management.

The Global Bond Fund was incorporated in October 1994, and the investment adviser is a subsidiary of Bankers Trust Company. The open-ended fund, which has a planned capitalisation of $200 million, aims to offer high income to investors and invests in any traded fixed-income securities.

The closed-end Mezzanine Fund, which was incorporated in March 1994, aims to offer capital appreciation by investing in several funds which cover a wide range of activities.

The advisers are the San Francisco-based Pacific Private Capital and Harvard Investment Group Capital Management, based in Miami. The fund has a planned capitalisation of $50 million.