IdealRatings Inc. launched the FTSE IdealRatings Sukuk Index in June in collaboration with global index provider FTSE Russell, incorporating IdealRatings’ Sukuk Shariah compliance screening methodology into the existing FTSE Sukuk Index methodology.

The FTSE IdealRatings Sukuk Index tracks the performance of US Dollar-denominated, investment-grade Sukuk that are issued in the global markets, providing investors with a transparent and objective measure of the market, enriched with best-in-class analytics capabilities available through the Yield Book platform. The screening of Shariah compliance for global Sukuk is based on the authentic methodology developed by IdealRatings, which is a compulsory eligibility criteria for inclusion of an instrument in the FTSE IdealRatings Sukuk Index. The screening methodology incorporates more than 150 Shariah standards to assign a pass / fail score based on a pre-determined threshold, and Sukuk must pass any mandatory standards set by IdealRatings.

“We are very happy with our active FTSE Russell collaboration on the latest partnership that revealed ‘FTSE IdealRatings Sukuk Index’. Together we designed an index to serve investors who are seeking to manage Islamic fixed income portfolios while minimizing Sukuk compliance risk” said Mohamed Donia, IdealRatings CEO.

“We are delighted to have partnered with IdealRatings to incorporate their best-in-class screening methodology into our index methodology. The rebranded index combines the Shariah expertise of IdealRatings with FTSE Russell’s strong expertise in benchmarking. It also nicely rounds out cross-asset coverage, building on the existing collaboration for equities”, said Nikki Stefanelli, FTSE Russell, Head of Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Index Policy.

FTSE IdealRatings Sukuk Index related information, including profiles, analytics, performance returns and historical data, can be retrieved from the FTSE Russell website. The index related information is also available on major third-party platforms with an identifier of SBKU.