Dow Jones Indexes named best Shari'ah-compliant index provider

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, announced on May 2nd, 2009 that it has been named 'Best Shari'ah-Compliant Index Provider' by Global Finance magazine for the second consecutive year.

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider,  announced on May 2nd, 2009  that it has been named 'Best Shari'ah-Compliant Index Provider' by Global Finance magazine for the second consecutive year. The Global Finance awards for World's Best Islamic Financial Institutions honor those financial institutions that make significant contributions to the growth of Islamic finance and successfully meet their clients' needs for Shari'ah-compliant products, while creating the foundation for continued fast growth in the future. 'We are honored to receive this award for the second year in a row, particularly as we commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes in 2009. The Dow Jones Islamic Market Index series is one of our greatest achievements in terms of innovation, concept, design, and market acceptance. It's been a tremendous decade for us as our Islamic indexes have gained popularity and an increasing user base,' said Michael A. Petronella, president, Dow Jones Indexes. 'We are committed to continue providing meaningful, new Islamic indexes in the years to come.' Award winners were selected by the editors of Global Finance, after extensive consultations with bankers, corporate finance executives and analysts worldwide. Selection criteria included objective factors such as growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and innovation in products, as well as subjective feedback from Islamic finance analysts, consultants and other industry participants. Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes seek to measure the global universe of investable equities that pass screens for Shari'ah compliance. The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes combine Islamic investment principles with Dow Jones Indexes' objective, transparent and rules-based methodology. The index family includes more than 100 regional, country and industry indexes derived from the flagship Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index. In 2006 the index family expanded to include the Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability Index, which combines Islamic investing principles with sustainability criteria; Dow Jones Citigroup Sukuk Index, the first index to track Islamic bonds; and Dow Jones Islamic Market BRIC Equal Weighted Index, which tracks Shari'ah-compliant stocks in Brazil, Russia, India and China. Islamic indexes for the ASEAN region, Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks, and Indian and Malaysian blue-chips were launched within 2008. There are currently more than 150 licensees with more than $7bn in assets benchmarked to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes. Link: http://www.cibafi.org/NewsCenter/English/Details.aspx?Id=3212&Cat=0