By Owen Delaney

From the late 1990s, global financial markets turned an interested eye on the Middle East resulting in not only the development of Islamic financial products but also the growth of fund capabilities in general, leading to the foreseeable fusion of the two in the emergence of Shari'a-compliant funds.

Although many may be tempted to conclude that the ultimate success of these funds will depend on their adaptability in the face of two pressures, one exerted by regional factors and the other by investment guidelines stipulated by Shari'a, the real key to their success lies in their popular perception. With several Shari'a-compliant funds up and running, both open and closed-ended, they have already shown themselves to be adaptable to such pressures. Read the entire article here.