Financial services group Almalia is set to launch the world’s first actively-managed global equity ETF which is compliant with Shariah laws using the services of white-label platform HANetf.
The Almalia Sanlam Active Shariah Global Equity UCITS ETF (AMAL) is expected to list on the London Stock Exchange later this week with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.99%.
Almalia has partnered with Sanlam Investments UK to manage the assets of AMAL and the ETF will form part of the global high quality strategy for the investment manager.
AMAL is comprised of global stocks that are expected to achieve capital growth over the medium to long term while complying with the principles of Shariah investment.
The investment screener, ensuring the underlying stocks are Shariah complaint, will be managed by a Shariah Panel of scholars from Amanie Advisors which is comprised of experienced Islamic investors.
Islamic financial products share four main features which include being asset-backed, ethical, share risks equitably and are subject to good governance.
HANetf converts six ETFs to ICSD model
Pieter Fourie, head of global equities at Sanlam, said: “The launch allows us the opportunity to demonstrate that active management using high quality-based investment principles within the parameters of a Shariah compliant universe can add significant value to investors.
“With this fund launch we believe an underserviced market can be given a better outcome, by following the same strategy as our global high quality fund which invests in businesses that have durable business models, wide economic moats and the ability to deliver significant shareholder value over the long term.”
Nik Bienkowski (pictured), co-CEO of HANetf, added: “Active ETFs are currently relatively few in number but represent a huge growth opportunity. As the ETF industry continues to enjoy strong growth, more active fund managers are looking to enter the sector and we look forward to helping them bring their strategies to the European market.”
The ETF is available in USD and GBP (AMAP).
This is the fifth ETF listed using HANetf's platform in 2020 having also assisted in launching the Alerian Midstream Energy Dividend UCITS ETF (MMLP) in July and the BTCetc Bitcoin Exchange Traded Crypto (BTCE) in June.
