The effects of Shariah board composition on Islamic equity indices' performance

Based on a sample of 54 Islamic indices over the period 2007–2014, we investigate the effect of Shariah board members' educational background on Islamic indices' risk and return characteristics via the screening criteria. Using a capital asset pricing model benchmark analysis, we assess the sensitivity of Islamic indices to their conventional peers in terms of beta and derive a measure of return (Jensen's alpha). First, we observe that the higher the number of members in common among the boards, the higher the risk–return profile of Islamic indices. Second, commonalities among board members lead to standardization of the screening criteria and to similar Islamic indices' performance. Third, we show that different betas across providers depend on the screening criteria, while the economic educational background of board members affects performance in terms of Jensen's alpha. Our study aims at contributing to the governance literature related to board composition and its importance as a possible driver of performance. In addition, given the impressive growth that Islamic finance has experienced during the last decade, this topic is of great interest to the asset management industry.     

Islamic,socially responsible,and conventional market comovements: Evidence from stock indices

This article extends the literature on ethical investment risks, correlations, and comovements. Through a sample of 17 Islamic, socially responsible investment (SRI), and conventional stock indices, we investigate cointegration and dynamic correlations for the period 2005–2015. We also examine these stock indices’ responses to two major economic factors, namely, oil prices and market volatility. Our results show cointegration between Islamic, SRI and conventional stock indices, and comovements with mutual causalities. During crises, dynamic correlations tend to spike; however, quite a different pattern emerges during postcrisis periods when there is more variability in conditional covariances. Finally, we provide evidence that all three types of stock indices react positively to oil price changes, but negatively to global equity market volatility, albeit with different magnitudes. Overall, investors can obtain portfolio diversification benefits through SRI and Islamic stock indices, particularly in postcrisis periods.