The fund, previously the Albaraka Equity Fund, opens the door for 'ethical' investment into South Africa.
Shari'ah compliant, the fund does not trade in shares of any company that sells pork, liquor, gambles, sells pornography or is an interest-bearing institutions.
For example, it does not include Pick n' Pay, which sells pork and wine, in its portfolio, nor any of the banks, insurance companies or casinos.
In existence since 1992, it has now been renamed the Futuregrowth Albaraka Equity Fund.
Futuregrowth portfolio manager Ashraf Mohamed is managing the R240-million fund.
This means that, out of the companies to trade in on the JSE Securities Exchange, only 43 can be considered.
Companies traded in would include BHP Billiton, Telkom, MTN and other resource companies.
The fund, boasting a compound annual growth rate of 27,5% over the last five years, has found clients outside of the anticipated Muslim base.
Income is distributed through dividends but the portion of interest in the dividend that is earned should be donated to a charity, said Albaraka Bank CEO Shabir Chohan.
Previously, only the JSE was accessible as an investment option but the fund is now looking at moving 15% of the investments offshore.
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