Companies employing Muslim workers seeking a pension arrangement that meet the requirements of sharia law will from today have access to a more diversified option thanks to Dean Wetton Advisory working in collaboration with Emirates NBD.
A diversified sharia compliant fund has been developed which can be used as an alternative to the main default fund. We are pleased to announce that the BlueSky Pension Scheme and Pensions Umbrella Trust, both advised by Dean Wetton Advisory, will be implementing this approach, more in line with guidance from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Commenting, Dean Wetton said:
“Most defined contribution schemes that offer sharia compliant funds for Muslim members only offer equity funds. We believe this is not good enough as equity funds arehigher risk than diversified funds due to the narrower and more volatile nature of these investments.
We were therefore pleased to be able to work with Emirates NBD to develop this new innovative approach to pension provision.”
Commenting on their adoption in the scheme, Paul Bannister, CEO of BlueSky Pension Scheme, said:
“BlueSky works with over four hundred employers and we understand thatmany of their membershave not had access to the scheme because they felt the options available to them were not compliant with their religious views.
The compulsion aspect of autoenrolment means we feel the need to offer the best options to members to provide investment solution.”
The Investment Committee of Pensions Umbrella Trust have also announced that they too will be including the scheme in the investment options available to its members.
Dean Wetton Advisory stated that the initial costs will be higher than hoped, a result of the uncertainty around numbers that might take-up the scheme. This will, assuming a reasonable take-up over the coming years, be reviewed with the intention to improve the offering in terms of cost and risk reduction as members approach retirement.
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