MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 - National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Sharia Compliant Funds
Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain are the main sharia fund management centres
Fund managers located in Saudi Arabia continued to dominate the sharia
compliant fund segment accounting for about half global assets. By fund domicile,
Saudi Arabia accounts for 42.6% of the total, followed by Malaysia at 30.8%. US
comes in next in terms of asset size. The figure for the US reflects the activities of
Saturna Capital, in particular. South and South East Asia and GCC are the natural focus
for sharia compliant fund industry expansion given their Muslim populations and growing
financial sophistication. There is a close relationship between fund manager location and
fund domicile reflecting regulations in the main markets. A potential hindrance to the
growth of funds across borders in this segment is difference amongst jurisdictions as to
the strict definitions of sharia compliance of various instruments.
Breakdown of Sharia Compliant Fund Assets by Country
(June 2012)
Breakdown by Domicile*
Kuwait
2.3%
Other
12.5%
Luxembourg
3.4%
USA
8.5%
Saudi Arabia
42.6%
Malaysia
30.8%
Source: Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company *Lipper largely omit Bahrain
domiciled funds.
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