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HSBC targets sharia in UK
HSBC is making a raft of sharia-compliant funds available to UK investors for the first time by restructuring them into a single, Luxembourg-domiciled offering.
The funds will form part of the newly realigned HSBC Amanah range and sit alongside the company's Global Investment range of mainstream portfolios, available for sale in 35 countries worldwide.
The funds in the range include Global Equity Index, Global Equity, Europe Equity and Asia Pacific ex Japan Equity.
All the products are now available on various UK platforms, while Amanah Global Equity index is about to be added to Cofunds.
All the funds are managed using an active quant approach applied by Sinopia, the active quant specialist within HSBC Global Asset Management.
According to the group, the new vehicles will aim to raise the profile of the sharia-compliant investment fund range in the UK significantly.
Andy Clark, managing director for UK and Mena wholesale at HSBC, said: "There is a general perception Islamic finance is only applicable to the Middle East. But demand is growing from the UK’s 1.3m Muslim population.
"For this reason, HSBC Global Asset Management plans to be at the forefront of offering to the UK market a comprehensive suite of investment products that meets sharia-compliant guidelines."
Mr Clark added the company hoped to make more funds available on the Amanah range in the future so it would eventually compete with, and complement, the wide range of sharia-compliant funds offered by HSBC through its Saudi and Cayman Islands domiciles.
