Mackenzie Investments announced May 12 the listing of the Wealthsimple Shariah World Equity Index ETF. Mackenzie is serving as trustee, manager and portfolio manager of the new exchange-traded fund. 

The Wealthsimple ETF seeks to replicate the performance of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Developed Markets Quality and Low Volatility Index. This index is comprised of equity securities in developed markets “which are Shariah-compliant and are characterized by the index provider, S&P OPCO, LLC, as having the highest combination of quality and low volatility multi-factor scores,” says Mackenzie.

The companies included in the index do not generally derive their income from the following industries: alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, weapons and defense, conventional banking, conventional insurance companies and adult entertainment including hotels, casinos, and cinema. 

"As the ETF market continues to grow, Shariah-compliant self-directed investment options remain limited and expensive and we saw an opportunity to change that," said Ben Reeves, Chief Investment Officer, Wealthsimple. "Having investment options that honour and reflect the values of investors across our country is at the heart of our mission." 

The Wealthsimple ETF's management fee is 0.50 percent of its net asset value (annual rate).