Effective 1 March 2023, this ETF  is now the Satrix Shariah Top 40 ETF (JSE code: STXSHA)

Aligning profitability with ethics is a sticky problem. Since businesses don’t seem to get it right, it’s not that surprising that ethical ETF choices are limited. Over the years the local industry has seen some attempts at ethics-driven ETFs. However, Absa’s Shari’ah-compliant Top 40 (share code: NFSH40) product has been the only one that has delivered on both ethics and performance. 

This ETF follows the tenets of Islam, but the investment philosophy will be appealing to anyone concerned about the impact of their investment capital. Says Len Jordaan of Index and Structured Solutions at Absa, “This ETF is based on a FTSE/ JSE index. FTSE employ an advisory panel [Yasaar Limited] that assesses the underlying companies and determines whether they are Shari’ah compliant.” 

In the case of the NFSH40, compliance means not investing in “companies that provide financial services, deal in alcohol, certain food products, tobacco and weapons”. The ETF uses the normal Top 40 index as a starting universe and systematically excludes companies that are not compliant. The Shari’ah basket relies heavily on companies in the basic materials sector – mostly mines. You can also expect consumer goods, telecommunications companies, pharmaceutical companies and companies providing industrial services. Of course, even within the allowed sectors, companies are only included when they adhere to the Shari’ah requirements. 

Tip: We discuss Shari’ah-compliant investment products in this episode of The Fat Wallet Show. 

With its predilection for mining, the performance of this ETF can mimic that of the resources index. You can expect periods of outperformance when there’s a run on resources. This ETF has fewer constituents representing fewer sectors, naturally adding a level of volatility higher than that of an ordinary broad-market index. Considering that sometimes leads to periods of out-performance, that might not be such a bad thing.