The 4th annual Ernst and Young Islamic Funds and Investment Report (IFIR-2010) released Monday at the World Islamic Funds and Capital Markets Conference states that global Islamic fund assets settled at $52.3 Billion in 2009, remaining at almost the same level as the $51.4 Billion posted in 2008. In contrast, the global conventional mutual fund assets under management (AuM) exhibited signs of recovery from their lows of $19 trillion in 2008, reaching $22 trillion in 2009. According to Sameer Abdi, Middle East Head of Ernst & Young's Islamic Financial Services Group, "This trend is reflective of a distinct shift in investors' preferences, and requires Islamic fund managers to adapt their strategies and operating models accordingly to meet the new levels of expectations." The research reveals that only 29 new Islamic funds were launched in 2009, almost offsetting the 27 Islamic funds that were liquidated during the same period. New Islamic funds launched were at their highest number ever at 173 in 2007. Since then, this number has declined dramatically. The overall Islamic asset management industry, which includes funds and Islamic investment accounts, touched $292 Billion or 31.1% of the total industry assets. This also underlines the predominance of investor deposits with banks, Abdi was quoted as saying by the UAE news agency "WAM". --MORE
