Islamic-ESG Synergies and Performance

This white paper outlines the result of research where we investigated a series of pressing question as ESG integration becomes considered by Islamic asset managers. It also identified how Shari’ah screens based on faith-based criteria combining negative and positive screening techniques about business activities and companies’ use of debt could be valuable for other asset managers and asset owners as they integrate ESG considerations. This white paper highlights our results from a six-factor asset pricing model drawn from our deeper analysis using several different measures of risk-adjusted returns and factor analysis using data from Refinitiv‘s EIKON database between 2001 and 2020. All of our analysis is conducted separately across four distinct geographical regions: Asia-Pacific, United States, Europe and Emerging Markets.