Wall Street to Draw Muslim Investors With New ETF

The first American ETF to adhere to centuries-old Islamic beliefs about investing and finance is to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker symbol JVS.

Javelin Exchange Traded Funds ("JETS") Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund will seek to match the performance of the Dow Jones Islamic Market ("DJIM") Titans 100 Index. The index is composed of 100 companies located outside the United States, comprising some twenty-three countries and exposure to eighteen different trading currencies. The fund anticipates a gross expense ratio of 0.68%.

"Adherence to Islamic law leads to a sound investment strategy with an emphasis on concrete assets and services," notes Javelin President and Founder Brint Frith. "By avoiding such areas as gaming and alcohol, the results are often similar to those of the socially responsible investment funds." Islamic finance rules are said to originate with the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th century.

In addition to alcohol and gaming, Islamic law prohibits investment in pork products and certain forms of entertainment. Because Shar'iah law also objects to borrowing or lending at interest, financial stocks are reduced as are highly leveraged companies.

The index's largest sector weighting as of May 29, 2009 was oil & gas, followed by basic materials, health care, technology and telecommunications. As of that date, the United Kingdom showed the highest country allocation at 21.04% of the index, followed by Canada (10.71%), Japan (9.83%) and France (9.82%).

"With over seven million Muslims in the United States," Frith adds, "we were surprised to discover that the investment needs of this vital population were not being met. Javelin is pleased to be serving this market."

Javelin Investment Management was founded for the purpose of introducing a series of new and compelling ETFs. The JETS Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund is its first offering.

An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal amount invested. The risks associated with the fund are detailed in the prospectus and include stock market risk, index risk, tracking error risk, replication management risk, small and mid cap company risk, market price risk, trading halts risk, foreign securities risk, foreign currency risk, emerging markets risk, foreign settlement and clearance and Islamic Shari'ah investment risk.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index (the "target index") is an index maintained by Dow Jones Indexes based on a stringent and published methodology. The target index is a float-adjusted, market capitalization-weighted index consisting of 100 securities, each of which is a foreign security.

From PRNewswire