"Shareholder activism is rare in Islamic finance, but one wealth manager has staked out new territory as the most outspoken voice among Muslim investors in the United States.
Working from an office in Falls Church, Virginia, Bashar Qasem was the only Islamic financial representative among religious shareholder advocates who sent a letter in February to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
It was only one of a number of such moves since 2015, when Qasem's Azzad Asset Management firm started weighing in on issues like worker safety, climate change and lobbying disclosures.
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While the [travel] ban jarred Qasem and some of his clients, he expressed optimism about U.S. economic growth prospects, given Trump's agenda of tax cuts and infrastructure investments. Higher interest rates could also help Azzad's holdings in low-debt companies, he said.
"After all," Qasem said of Trump, "he's a businessman."
"Excerpted with precision from a reputable online source
http://www.reuters.com/arti...g-idUSKBN17C0AT?il=0
