KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd said its exchange traded fund (ETF), MyETF Dow Jones U.S. Titans 50, has achieved a total return of 10.31% as at July 30 since listing early this year.

The fund’s performance is attributable to both price returns of 6.47% and currency gains of 3.84% over the period, i-VCAP said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

“MyETF-US50 was able to deliver strong performance against a backdrop of slowing growth in the US market and concerns over protectionist policies.

“If an investor had subscribed to the fund since its inception, they would have seen their total return hit double digits at more than 10% by now,” said i-VCAP CEO Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki.

Khairi said the fund’s benchmark Index, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index, outperformed various indices which may be considered barometers of US market health from Feb 20 to June 30. These include the S&P 500, S&P 100, and Dow Jones Industrial Average.

i-VCAP said MyETF-US50 also outperformed certain domestic and regional indices in the first half of 2018.

“The Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific ex-Japan Total Return, MSCI South East Asia Net Total Return Index USD, FTSE Bursa Malaysia Hijrah Shariah, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI indices all saw negative returns from January to 26h July 2018, while the MyETF-US50 in contrast delivered a price return of 6.47% over the same period,” it said.

MyETF-US50 was listed on Feb 28, marking a first for Malaysia as the country’s first US dollar-denominated security to be listed on Bursa Malaysia, entirely tradeable in US dollars on the local bourse. The fund comprises the 50 largest syariah-compliant companies listed in the US.