IslamicFinance.de

James Rutter wrote on 9 March in Wealth Bulletin that the crisis creates opportunity for Islamic wealth management as conventional wealth management and its brands looking less attractive. Current market conditions favour more simple products. Ironically, the trend in Islamic finance in recent years has been towards trying to mimic complex and risky western financial products.

By giving money to a counterparty which separately invests in underlying hedge funds or derivatives, an Islamic investor is able to receive a payout that tracks the performance of assets to which he would not otherwise be able to gain exposure. Islamic investors who bought such products have seen hefty losses, prompting a backlash against financial institutions adopting more flexible interpretations of sharia law.

Humayon Dar, CEO BMB Islamic sees ongoing demand for such products in a so-called Sharia wrapper, because of the limited choice of Islamic products.