Alpha: Alpha is a measure of an investment’s performance on a risk-adjusted basis. It takes the volatility (price risk) of a security or fund portfolio and compares its risk-adjusted performance to a benchmark index. The excess return of the investment relative to the return of the benchmark index is its alpha.

Beta: Beta, also known as the beta coefficient, is a measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio, compared to the market as a whole.

Effective duration: Effective duration is the managers’ estimate of the Fund’s price sensitivity to changes in interest rates.

Islamic bank accounts: Islamic bank accounts are operated under the Islamic finance principle of wakala (an agency agreement). With wakala, a bank, as agent, raises funds to invest in various commercial activities from its investors. The bank and its investors both share in the profit and risk of loss of investment in such activities.

R-squared: R-squared is a statistical measure that represents the percentage of a fund portfolio or a security’s movements that can be explained by movements in a benchmark index. R-squared values range from 0 to 100.

Sharpe ratio: The Sharpe ratio tells investors whether an investment’s returns are due to wise investment decisions or the result of excess risk. The greater an investment’s Sharpe ratio, the better its risk-adjusted performance.

Standard deviation: Standard deviation measures the dispersion of data from its mean. It can tell investors how much the return on a fund is deviating from the expected returns based on its historical performance.

Sukuk: Sukuk are securities or certificates specifically structured to comply with Islamic principles which forbid riba (the charging or paying of interest).

Trade finance: Trade finance facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers in international trade. Financial institutions participate in trade finance deals by acting as an intermediary between the importer and the exporter.

Weighted average effective maturity: Weighted average effective maturity is the managers’ estimate of the length of time the average security in the Fund will mature or be redeemed by its issuer.