• Introduction of a new Tayyib seal for investment products by the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) to launch at COP28 in Dubai, supported by Jupiter Asset Management and UK Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates:– Jupiter Asset Management and the UK Islamic Finance Council (UKIFC) will be supporting the Global Ethical Finance Initiative’s (GEFI) upcoming launch of a new Tayyib seal for Islamic investment products. The seal will bridge the gap between traditional Shariah-compliant practices and broader ESG standards to ensure Tayyib inspired considerations can be effectively integrated into investment decisions and strategies.

The need for this new standard is outlined in Jupiter’s latest joint whitepaper report, ‘Shariah investing: The importance of Tayyib’. It finds that the existing mechanical screening process for Shariah-compliant equity funds, focused on excluding forbidden (haram) products, has limitations and often overlooks the broader societal and environmental impact of companies.

The introduction of the project’s seal will offer a more tailored process, strengthening means of Islamic investing and addressing the importance of businesses being “Tayyib” (wholesome) as opposed to solely "Halal" (permissible).

With the launch coinciding with the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), hosted in Dubai this year, the enhanced standard will support companies in exceeding basic requirements, reflecting a deeper commitment to ethical and sustainable practices and blending Islamic values with modern ESG standards in line with the overall objectives of COP28. This is critical to ensuring that Islamic finance plays its role in financing the just transition.

The size of this opportunity within the investment landscape is vast; while Shariah-compliant assets have exhibited growth in the past five years, they still only account for just over 1% of the size of ESG AUM as of October 2023. Furthermore, less than 0.2% of global assets under management are Shariah compliant, despite Muslims making up a quarter of the world's population. The Tayyib seal has the potential to drive significant growth in Shariah-compliant funds.

Salman Siddiqui, Investment Manager at Jupiter, comments: “At Jupiter, we are proud to champion an initiative that aligns our investment strategy with the true spirit of Islamic values and core ESG principles. The Tayyib seal is a mark of compliance as much as it is a symbol of aspiration of excellence and goodness in all aspects of investing. With COP28 set to take place soon in Dubai, where all eyes will be on the Muslim world, we believe the time is now for the Tayyib concept and its intrinsic principles to come to the fore in Islamic finance.”

Omar Shaikh, Managing Director at the Global Ethical Finance Initiative, added: “Our collaboration with Jupiter on the Tayyib project is a testament to our commitment to ethical finance. Together, we aim to shape a future where Islamic finance and ESG go hand in hand, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact of this new standard realised over the coming months and years.”

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About Jupiter:

Jupiter is a specialist, high conviction, active asset manager. We exist to help our clients achieve their long-term investment objectives. From our origins in 1985, Jupiter now offers a range of actively managed strategies available to UK and international clients including equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives. Jupiter is a constituent member of the FTSE 250 Index, and has assets under management of £47.4bn /$53.0bn /€54.0bn as at 30/09/2022.

Independence of thought and individual accountability define us. Our fund managers follow their convictions and seek those investment opportunities that they believe will ensure the best outcome for our clients. They do this through fundamental analysis and research, a clear investment process and risk management framework, with a focus on good stewardship.

We believe that asset managers have a critical leadership role to play in helping to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing the world. In this spirit, we are proud of our long-established credentials in the fields of ESG and sustainable investment, and of our ongoing commitment to specialism and innovation in these areas. Jupiter is a constituent member of the FTSE4Good Index, and a signatory on a number of key initiatives such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.

Jupiter’s values and responsible business practices are aligned with the principles of the UN Global Compact and the 2020 UK Stewardship Code. Having engaged with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on the implementation of the 2020 UK Stewardship Code, we support this reinvigorated framework and have undertaken further investor outreach with the FRC and the Investment Association (IA). We are proud of the A+ score for strategy and governance we obtained in the latest assessment of our activities under the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). We also maintained our ‘A’ status under the PRI principles for our equities strategies and improved our ranking to an ‘A’ in fixed income.

For more information please contact:

Richard Hooper
Head of Middle East & Africa
richard.hooper@jupiteram.com

For media inquiries please contact:
Joann Joseph
Senior Consultant
Joann.joseph@instinctif.com

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