Crescent Wealth is planning to launch a sharia-compliant diversified investment fund that aims to provide a multi-asset superannuation option for members.
"We are going to have a fund ready by March next year; that is what we are aiming for," Crescent Wealth chief executive Chaaban Omran said.
Crescent opened a sharia-compliant Australian equities fund last month, which is thought to be the first of its kind in Australia.
The fund, which has an absolute return objective, is managed by Sigma Funds Management, an investment boutique established in 2009 from the former Credit Suisse Asset Management Australian equities team.
But the creation of a diversified investment fund is more challenging because the ban on receiving interest under sharia rules makes most fixed income investments off limits.
Omran has been looking for alternatives to bond investments that have similar characteristics and sees possibilities in short-term commodity trades that generate an income stream.
"Money cannot make money; it has to be asset based," Omran, a former head of business systems with Australian Wealth Management (now IOOF), said.
"It is about moving away from money to an asset as the underlying commodity."
He also said there were some mortgage trust products available that were structured in such a way that they were sharia compliant.
Further diversification was achieved by investing in global equities and property, he said.
"It is a big challenge for us. Once we have four asset classes we should be able to build a diversified fund," he said.
Omran, who spoke at an Investment Management Consultants Association presentation earlier this week, said he expected demand from self-managed super funds, but he also saw opportunities among industry funds.
"NGSS (Non-Government Schools Superannuation), they today manage all of the superannuation for Australia's Islamic schools and all the staff in Islamic schools invest in the Australian share fund," he said.
"So I think there is interest, but at this point in time it is very difficult to sell the concept."
Sharia-compliant investing has become a large industry. Standard & Poor's has estimated that in 2008 more than $750 billion in assets was managed in accordance to sharia rules globally.
In Australia, interest has increased for these funds as socially responsible investment options.
Aon Hewiit recently added Crescent's Australian equity fund to its superannuation menu.
"The Aon Master Trust reviewed the managers for the socially responsible funds that we have in our superannuation menu," Aon Hewitt chief investment officer Janice Sengupta said on Tuesday.
"We undertook an investigation and spoke first with Sigma and liked their risk management processes and stock selection, and after a couple of years of exploratory discussions, we now have Crescent as a separate investment option, but we do view it as a socially responsible fund."
