UAE-based asset management firm FinaMaze has launched Shariah-compliant Islamic Smartfolios.
Investors can put as little as $2,000 in the new Smartfolio, which consists of a basket of stocks.
“With this new product, we will meet the requirements of an important segment of our clients, as well as offer Islamic investors the opportunity to access personalised portfolios,” CEO and Founder of FinaMaze, Mehdi Fichtali said. FinaMaze is based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
It has exposure to stocks from 23 developed markets and all are part of the FTSE Shariah USA Index and the MSCI World Islamic Index universe. The product excludes companies with excessive leverage or whose activities are not compatible with Islamic principles.
Companies whose total debt (or cash/ interest-bearing securities) weighs more than a third of their assets are indeed excluded as well as those whose accounts receivable and cash represent more than half of their assets.
The Smartfolio also excludes companies whose total interest income and non-compliant activities (such as alcohol, tobacco, non-halal-related products, conventional financial services, defense/weapons, gambling, or adult entertainment) income exceeds 5 percent of the total revenue.
Among the selected companies, some operate in the Healthcare sector with names like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Roche (Switzerland), while others are in Consumer staples (Procter & Gamble), Energy (Exxon, Chevron, Shell (GB)), Technology (Apple, Cisco, Adobe) or Auto (Tesla).
Earlier this month, FinaMaze said it would enter Saudi Arabia’s financial market under the Fintech Saudi Regulatory Accelerator Program.
