Products April 24, 2007

MSCI Barra To Release Shariah-compliant Global Equity Indices

April 24, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - MSCI Barra has developed a global family of Islamic indices designed to reflect the Shariah investment principles that guide Islamic investments.
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The MSCI Global Islamic Indices will incorporate dividend purification rules for more relevant benchmark for Shariah portfolios, according to the release.

The indices can licensed for use by investors around the world for portfolio management and benchmarking purposes, as well as to serve as the basis of structured products and other index-linked investment vehicles such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The firm will introduce a set of flagship indices in July 2007, and the full global index family i n October 2007.

“We are developing the MSCI Global Islamic Indices in response to client demand for a consistently constructed and maintained family of indices that reflect Shariah investment principles,” said Henry Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer and President of MSCI Barra.

According to the release, the indices will be derived from the applicable MSCI Standard Indices, calculated according to the MSCI Global Investable Market Indices Methodology. Screening of both business activities and financial ratios will be used to apply the Shariah investment principles to the MSCI Global Islamic Indices, and will be reviewed by MSCI Barra’s Shariah advisers for ongoing compliance with the MSCI Islamic Index Series Methodology.   

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