An independent Sharia Board, the advisory board of Dar al Istithmar, has granted a Fatwa on the MSCI Islamic Index Series Methodology, concluding that the methodology is in compliance with generally accepted Sharia guidelines. The Sharia Supervisory Committee of Dar al Istithmar comprises some of the most widely respected and distinguished scholars from the world of Islamic Finance.

Stringent Screens for Business Activities and Financial Ratios: The MSCI Islamic Index Series Methodology applies stringent screens to exclude securities based on two types of criteria: business activities and financial ratios derived from total assets. Using total assets rather than market capitalization for the three financial ratio screens results in lower index volatility and lower index turnover, as market capitalization can be more volatile than total assets.

Incorporates Dividend Purification: In addition, the application of a dividend adjustment factor in the creation of the MSCI Global Islamic Indices results in more relevant benchmarks, as they reflect the total return to an Islamic portfolio net of dividend purification.

Broad Country Coverage: The MSCI Global Islamic Indices are constructed from the conventional MSCI country indices and cover 70 Developed, Emerging and Frontier Markets countries, including regions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries ex Saudi Arabia and Arabian markets.

MSCI Global Islamic Indices can be used to:

• Provide benchmarks that reflect Sharia investment principles
• Obtain insights for stock screening related to Sharia investment principles
• Help evaluate, select and monitor managers and their performance
• Provide effective research and asset allocation tools
• Construct and issue index-linked products such as listed and OTC derivatives,exchange trade funds (ETFs), and mutual funds.

MSCI Global Islamic Indices

As of January 2011