Dow Jones Indexes said Tuesday that it has hired Tariq Al-Rifai as its director of Islamic indexes.
Al-Rifai, who will be based in Dubai, will focus on expanding Dow Jones Indexes' Shari'ah-compliant index products globally. He will work with institutional clients to identify new business opportunities, develop Shari'ah-compliant indexes and work with money managers and coach investors.
The Dow Jones & Co. unit said Al-Rifai is an authority on Islamic equity and private-equity funds and he will help the company "further advance its leading position in providing Shari'ah-compliant indexes."
Al-Rifai will be the liaison between Dow Jones' Islamic Market Shari'ah Supervisory Board of five international scholars and Dow Jones Indexes' maintenance, research and development teams, which are responsible for screening the Shari'ah-compliant indexes and building new indexes.
He founded Failaka Advisors in 1996 to promote and develop Islamic financial instruments. The research organization became a leading provider of Islamic market research and fund performance.
Al-Rifai had been vice president of UIB Capital Inc. in Chicago since May 2004. Before that he was vice president of Islamic banking at HSBC Bank in New York.
