Australia's first Islamic wealth fund set to launch

Crescent Wealth has announced the launch of Crescent Australian Equity Fund (CAEF), which it says is Australia's first Islamic Australian equity fund.

With an initial $5.5 million in funds under management (FUM), Crescent Wealth said the new investment fund would operate in accordance with Islamic principles and provides a socially responsible alternative to investment.

According to Crescent Wealth, Islamic funds in Australia have the potential to grow from a potential investible universe of $8 billion today to $13 billion by 2019, and the company said it would continue to target this sector with plans to launch a further three funds in the future. 

"There is enormous potential for Islamic funds - from the Australian community and from abroad - mirroring the significant growth that we have seen in similar funds overseas," said Crescent Wealth's founder and managing director Talal Yassine.

CAEF will be sub-advised by Sigma Funds Management and is open to all investors, both private and institutional. According to Crescent Wealth, the fund will focus its investments on resources, mining and small cap equities from a selection of around 200 stocks.

The fund is targeting $500 million in FUM, with a target return of 6.9 per cent. The minimum investment will be $10,000 with an investment horizon of 3 or 5 years.