Yesterday and today I spent some time looking into the methodology behind shariah screening for Islamic financial products.
I noticed a small detail.
As a rule, a company is screened for how much debt / interest-bearing securities it has (up to 33% is OK) and how much of its turnover is generated by:
Alcohol, Adult Entertainment, Cinema, Conventional Financial Services, Defense / Weapons, Gambling / Casino, Hotels, Music, Online Dating, Pork related products and Tobacco. (up to 5% is OK)
So there is no country screening... but you will not find a company from a specific country. Since the MSCI Islamic Index only recognizes 22 and not 23 developed countries...
Why all other MSCI indices that have "World" in their name have 23 countries, but not this one index, I can't say. Do you have any ideas? 🤔