Azzad Wise Capital Fund
(Ticker: WISEX) First Halal Fixed Income Fund
Fund Overview
Objective
The Fund seeks capital preservation and income, consistent with minimal fluctuation of principal.
Strategy
The Fund invests primarily in sukuk, Islamic bank deposits and trade finance securities. Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s average portfolio duration will range from one to three years. When selecting investments for the Fund, the portfolio management team is guided by the firm’s Islamic finance philosophy.
Why Invest in Halal Fixed Income?
Halal fixed income securities are an important diversification and income-generating tool for investors who observe the Islamic prohibition on usury, as well as for conventional investors in search of exposure to alternatives and emerging market yield. Although they are not tied to interest-based lending, halal fixed income products hold sukuk and Islamic bank deposits, which are designed to share profits and generate returns similar to conventional bonds.
Since the Azzad Wise Capital Fund invests primarily in halal fixed-income securities with relatively short maturities (generally defined as about 1 to 3 years) the Fund is less sensitive to changes in interest rates than other fixed-income funds with longer maturity dates. Like other types of fixed-income funds, the Azzad Wise Capital Fund is inherently safer than other types of securities, such as stocks.
Top Holdings
ESIC SUKUK LTD., 3.939%, 07/30/2024 | 3.08% | |
IDB TRUST SERVICES, LTD. REGS, 1.957%, 10/02/2024 | 2.26% | |
ALDAR SUKUK LTD., 4.750%, 09/29/2025 | 2.24% | |
TNB GLOBAL VENTURES CAP., SR. UNSECD. NOTE, SERIES EMTN, 3.244%, 10/19/2026 | 2.15% | |
AXIATA SPV2 BHD, 4.357%, 03/24/2026 | 2.07% | |
DIB SUKUK, LTD., SR. UNSECD. NOTE, 2.950%, 02/20/2025 | 2.03% | |
MAF SUKUK LTD., SR. UNSECD. NOTE, 4.500%, 11/03/2025 | 1.86% | |
PERUSAHAAN PENERBIT SBSN INDOIS SUKUK, SERIES 144A, 4.150%, 03/29/2027 | 1.83% | |
MAYBANK ISLAMIC BANK (MALAYSIA), 5.42%, 09/18/2024 | 1.54% | |
QIB SUKUK, LTD., UNSECD. NOTE, 5.581%, 11/22/2028 | 1.51% | |
The top 10 holdings and sector diversification may not be representative of the Fund’s current or future investments and may change without notice. | ||
Number of Securities | 129 | |
Fixed Income Style Map
As of June 30, 2024
Style Maps estimate characteristics of a fund’s fixed income holdings over two dimensions: credit quality and maturity.
Fund Information
Ticker Symbol
WISEX
CUSIP
55060305
Inception Date
04/06/2010
Minimum Initial Investment
$4,000
Net Expense Ratio
0.89%
Gross
0.96%
Maximum Sales Charge
None
Investment Style
Global Short-Term Bond
Risk of this Category
Source: Fund prospectus. Net expense ratio reflects a contractual expense reimbursement that continues through 12/01/2029. Without the reimbursement, performance would have been lower. Gross expense ratio as of 6/30/2024 was 0.96%.
PORTFOLIO PROFILE
Weighted Average Effective Maturity | 1.78 Yrs. | |
Weighted Average Coupon | 4.16% | |
Weighted Average Yield to Maturity | 4.97% | |
Weighted Average Effective Duration | 1.58 Yrs. | |
Source: Federated Hermes |
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (%)
| FUND | BENCHMARK | |
| 3-Month | 0.43 | 0.99 |
| YTD | 2.01 | 1.45 |
| 1-Year | 4.22 | 4.94 |
| 3-Year | 1.26 | 0.55 |
| 5-Year | 2.07 | 1.26 |
| 10-Year | 1.80 | 1.36 |
| Since Inception | 2.01 | 1.40 |
SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION (AS % OF TOTAL PORTFOLIO)
|
Bank Deposits |
20.96 |
|
Sukuks |
65.79 |
|
Trade Finance |
2.51 |
|
US Stocks Total |
6.21 |
VOLATILITY MEASURES (%)
| VS BENCHMARK 1 | 3 YEAR | 5 YEAR | 10 YEAR |
| Beta | 0.11 | 0.13 | 0.11 |
| R2 | 71.70 | 72.40 | 66.62 |
| Standard Deviation | 2.43 | 2.73 | 2.12 |
| Sharpe Ratio | -0.90 | -0.09 | 0.09 |
Source: Morningstar
Management
Socially Responsible Islamic Investment Philosophy
Azzad does not believe in charging or paying interest from lending, or in trading debt, money market instruments, futures contracts, and currency. The Fund follows an investment philosophy that is faith-based and believes that financial transactions should be conducted on a fair and equitable basis for both the borrower and financier.
Investment Adviser & Portfolio Management
Azzad Asset Management, an investment advisory firm established in 1997,
is investment adviser to the Azzad Funds. The firm is committed to helping clients manage their money according to a disciplined, socially responsible investment philosophy based on faith-based values. Ihab Salib, John Polinski, and Mohamed Elmi, CFA® from Federated Investment Management Company manage the Azzad Wise Capital Fund’s fixed income allocation. Jamal Elbarmil from Azzad Asset Management manages the Fund’s equity allocation.
Invest Today
To purchase the Fund, contact your financial professional or call us at 888.86.AZZAD. The Fund is available on many brokerage platforms including Schwab and Fidelity.
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus. Investors should read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging markets, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues. Although the Fund does not invest in interest-bearing debt securities found in conventional bonds, the fund may still be affected by the movement of interest rates, may be subjected to credit, prepayment, and extension risks. The fund’s holdings may also be affected by changes in the creditworthiness of the issuer and are subject to the risk of non-payment of principal and profits. The fund also invests a small portion in trade finance contracts which are subject to illiquidity risks. Investing primarily in Islamically permissible fixed income securities carries the risk that, under certain market conditions, the Fund may underperform funds that do not utilize an Islamic finance investment strategy. Please read the fund’s prospectus for more information about these and other risks.
Index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. The Index’s returns assume reinvestment of all distributions and dividends. The ICE BofAML US Corp & Govt 1-3 Yr Index tracks the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated investment grade government and corporate public debt issued in the U.S. domestic bond market, excluding collateralized products.
