MCCA Launches Islamic Mortgage Investment Fund

The Muslim Community Cooperative – Australia (MCCA) launched an real estate investment fund this week that complies with Islamic law geared toward such investors in the country. The company said it believes it is the first such retail managed investment mortgage fund following Shariah principles, including strict guidelines on industries or services where funds can be invested. The principles prohibit usury or interest-based investment products. Shariah principles also dictate investors must have a stake in the collateral of a debt, and that is generally accomplished by selling a portion of ownership in the collateral to the investors. The MCCA Income Fund will be issued in September and investors can get into the fund with as little as $500. While geared toward Muslim investors, it is open to “any Australian investors seeking ethical investments that comply with Shariah principles,” MCCA said in a statement. The fund is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and a product disclosure statement will be issued in September. The news comes as another Islamic bank, Kuwait Finance House, announced it’s getting back into the US residential mortgage secondary market. Write to Austin Kilgore.