Shariah Compliant Index Series Launched

January 30, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - FTSE Group, a global index company, and Yasaar Research on Wednesday launched the FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series.

The launch of the 96 new Shariah compliant indexes, 12 of which are calculated in real time, includes the FTSE Shariah Developed Index Series, the FTSE Shariah Emerging Index Series, the FTSE Shariah All-World Index Series, and FTSE Shariah Multinationals 150 Index.

According to a press release, the FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series uses asset-based debt screening, a more conservative approach to Shariah compliance to ensure that companies do not pass the screening criteria due to marketplace fluctuation. This allows the methodology to be less speculative and more in keeping with Shariah principles, the announcement said.

The FTSE Shariah Global Equity Index Series comprises the Large and Mid Cap stocks from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series and has been designed to be used as the basis of Shariah compliant investment products that meet the requirements of Islamic investors globally.

“The growth of the Islamic market is such that the investors have come to demand an availability of choices. The FTSE Shariah index series serve those growing demands in a transparent, timely and Shariah compliant manner, enabling the creation of products based on these indices which will give greater beneficial choice and thereby engender the Islamic finance industry generally,” said Majid Dawood, CEO of Yasaar Limited and President of Yasaar Research Inc, in the press release.

For more information, go to  www.ftse.com .

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