ESG, syariah stock indices slightly outpaced conventional counterparts on better management, lower leverage — Islamic finance heads

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) and Islamic stock indices have marginally outperformed their conventional counterparts this year, owing to their better management and lower leverage. Refinitiv head of Islamic finance Mustafa Adil said while syariah-compliant equity indices experienced identical volatility-induced declines to conventional stock indices, they had staged a better recovery so far. He added that these equities are expected to provide greater returns in the medium to long term as they are less leveraged.