Investing in good faith

Talal Yassine, founder of Islamic investment fund Crescent Wealth, believes Australia's Muslim population offers growth potential for sharia-compliant financial products. Crescent Wealth's criteria exclude investing in banks or other financial stocks as well as companies that have investments in alcohol, gambling, pornography, arms or the production of pork. They also consider the companies' debt-to-asset ratio, receivables outstanding and levels of cash or liquid assets. Yassine believes Crescent Wealth will attract funds from the vast Muslim community in Malaysia, Indonesia and, potentially, China.