March, 29, 2010

The company has already received an exemptive relief order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US regulator, to launch the funds on the US exchanges," Saeid Hamedanchi, CFA, president & CEO of Florentez (ShariahShares ETF), said in an exclusive interview with Arab News here recently.Hamedanchi, who was traveling to the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries to test the waters for demand for ETFs, said Islamic finance is growing by leaps and bounds in the US in recent times.

He said, for example, Amanah funds have had spectacular asset growth in the US. "More and more investors wanting to invest according to Shariah in the US. There are seven to 10 million Muslims in the US. A majority of them are affluent immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and the Arab world," he said, adding that even non-Muslims are buying these Shariah-compliant funds due to strong performance.

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