Franklin Templeton is adding two new funds to its Luxembourg-domiciled Franklin Templeton Shariah Funds (FTSF) range for Europe, Asia and Middle East investors.
The FTSF Franklin Global Sukuk Ultra Short Duration fund launched on 23 April to cater to growing demand for Shariah-compliant liquidity solutions among institutional investors, wealth managers and pension schemes.
Managed by Mohieddine (Dino) Kronfol, CIO global sukuk and head of Middle East fixed Income at FTFI, and portfolio managers Amit Jain and Hardeep Dogra, the fund aims to provide capital preservation and liquidity while maximising total returns and income by investing in a highly liquid portfolio of short-dated sukuk, supranational instruments and Shariah-compliant deposits.
Head of Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management at FTIS Brett Risser and portfolio manager Chris Floyd will manage the FTSF Franklin Shariah Systematic Global Equity fund, which is slated for launch in May.
The fund will seek to deliver long-term capital appreciation by using a multi-factor quantitative model to identify securities with exposure to quality, value, sentiment and alternative data signals. The investment universe is screened to ensure compliance with Shariah principles, including exclusions and financial ratio filters aligned with Islamic investing standards.
Matthew Harrison, head of EMEA and Americas ex-US, Franklin Templeton, said: “As one of the few global Shariah-compliant asset managers, we have investment professionals based in key Sukuk issuance hubs, including Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Riyadh, supported a global network of more than 200 investment, trading and risk professionals.
“The expansion of our shariah fund range reflects growing demand from institutional and wholesale clients for high‑quality Shariah‑compliant investment solutions.”
Franklin Templeton’s Shariah-compliant strategies are supported by independent oversight from the Amanie Shariah Supervisory Board, advanced screening technology and integrated risk management processes.
