TASIS appointed as Shariah Advisor for Tata Group Shariah Mutual Funds
Mumbai: (Press Release) Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS) appointed as Shariah Advisor for Tata Group Shariah Mutual Funds: Tata Ethical Fund (TEF) – a domestic fund – and Tata Indian Sharia Equity Fund (TISEF) – an offshore fund.
TASIS is India’s premier Shariah advisory institution in the field of Finance since last one decade.
TASIS has signed an Agreement with Tata Asset Management Limited (TAML) and Tata Asset Management (Mauritius) Limited (TAMML) to provide Shariah Consultancy Services to TEF and TISEF.
TEF is the leading Shariah compliant fund, launched in the year 1996. The funds mobilized under TEF are invested in a diversified equity portfolio based on principles of Shariah. Its AUM has grown from INR 200 crores to INR 470 crores in the last three years.
TISEF is an open-end fund domiciled in Mauritius. The Fund invests in Shariah compliant equity or equity equivalent listed Indian companies. The current AUM of the fund is USD 17 million.
TASIS specializes in providing Shariah consultancy, investment and advisory services which include the conceptualization, structuring, supervision, authentication, monitoring and certification of financial products, services, arrangements and agreements, and, stock screening and monitoring and other related activities in accordance with the principles of Shariah.
A mutual fund scheme is Shariah compliant if all the investments in the scheme are Shariah compliant and their method of investment too is Shariah compliant, said Mr. Khatkhatay, Director, TASIS.
TASIS is proud to have some internationally renowned Shariah scholars on its Shariah Advisory Board. According to TASIS Shariah Board, investment in a stock is acceptable if its business is restricted to Shariah compliant sectors and its financial parameters (including its earnings from interest based sources) fall within the maximum limits set by the Board.
Under the current Agreement, TASIS is supposed to ensure that the investments and operations of TEF and TISEF are Shariah compliant.
It is to be noted that Islamic Finance is a more than USD 2.3 trillion industry today and is emerging as one of the fastest growing areas of international finance. Of these, Islamic funds comprise about USD 92 billion. In India, assets with Islamic funds account for about USD 80 million. Currently Islamic banking and finance practices have a presence in over 75 countries of the world; these include many countries of Europe, North America, South-East Asia and Africa.
Generally Muslims in India avoid conventional investment avenues as most such avenues involve interest (Riba) dealings. In addition, there is low awareness about investment in securities. The availability of options such as TEF would help this section of the society to become part of mainstream financial system and hence contribute to the goal of cent percent financial inclusion.