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Almalia teams up with Sanlam and HANetf to create actively managed Shariah compliant ETF

Nicholas Earl, 29/09/2020

Almalia will launch the world’s first active global equity Shariah compliant ETF via the HANetf platform.

The Almalia Sanlam Active Shariah Global Equity UCITS ETF is set to be listed on the London Stock Exchange later this week.

The Islamic financial services platform has selected Sanlam Investments UK to manage the assets of the ETF.

The fund will be brought into Sanlam’s long-standing Global High Quality Strategy, which is managed by Sanlam’s global head of equities, Pieter Fourie, along with his team of six investment professionals.

The ETF will aim to achieve capital growth over the medium to long term, while complying with the principles of Shariah investment.

Islamic financial products share four main features: they are asset backed, ethical, share risks equitably and are subject to good governance.

Consequently, it will invest in companies with high returns on capital and low leverage, as well as enduring business models with a sustainable competitive advantage, producing significant free cash flow after capital expenditure.

The fund’s screening processes will be overseen by a Shariah panel of scholars from Amanie Advisors with deep expertise in Islamic Investment.

Hector McNeil, co-chief executive officer at HANetf, told fundeye that he was optimistic about the performance of the fund.

He said: “Sanlam have a significant track record in this space and like most ethical investing, long-term research suggests it will outperform.”

Alongside his support of the new fund, he also outlined the opportunities presented by ETFs.

Mr McNeil explained: “We believe the ETF wrapper is the most democratic wrapper available and has the furthest reach distribution wise.”

Paul-David Oosthuizen, chief executive officer Almalia added: “We are proud to be the first to launch an actively managed Shariah compliant global equities ETF. Our team is passionate about values-based investing and providing innovative solutions to underserved investors. This ETF may be suitable for investors looking for an actively managed strategy with a focus on good governance, as well as those who wish to invest in a Shariah compliant way.”

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