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India is an emerging economy and one of the preferred investment destinations for environmental, social and governance (ESG) fund issuers. Institutional investors invest retail investors’ money, and hence, it becomes imperative for ESG fund managers to understand the social investment preferences of retail investors. This study aims to compare the Indian socially responsible (SR) investors and conventional investors in terms of their socially responsible investment (SRI) awareness level, opinions about broad and specific ESG issues, investment behavior and demographics. In addition, this paper makes an attempt to have a deeper insight into Indian investors’ behavior toward SRI by segmenting the Indian retail investors based on their SRI awareness level, attitude toward ESG issues and intention to accept lower financial returns, and choices made by them as consumers.

After collecting the data through the survey method an independent t-test is used to compare SR investors with conventional investors. Chi-square has been used to analyze the data related to demographics, and cluster analysis is used to identify segments among Indian retail investors.

The results indicated that Indian SR investors’ SRI awareness level is more, they are more concerned about broad and specific ESG issues, they are more into faith-based investing, and are responsible consumers vis-à-vis conventional investors. As per demographic, SR investors are in the middle age group of 30–40 years, male, hold a postgraduate degree and have an annual income of 10–20 lakhs in comparison to conventional investors. The results of cluster analysis indicated that Indian retail investors can be classified into three groups based on their SRI awareness, intention to sacrifice financial return, attitude toward ESG issues and choices made by them as consumers.

Results have implications for national and international fund managers, policymakers, regulators and society. These results will help mutual fund companies to provide curated SR mutual funds as per the behavior and choice of retail investors and penetrate the Indian investment market more deeply.

This research study contributes to the literature on SRI by identifying the differentiating characteristics of Indian SR and conventional investors and segmenting Indian retail investors on the basis of their SRI awareness, the importance of ESG issues and choices made by them as investors and consumers.

This paper aims to explore whether the market perceives liquid international sovereign sukūk as distinct from comparable bonds and as an asset class of their own that could shield investors against turbulences in the bond markets.

If sukūk and bonds belong to the same asset class, then basically the same supply and demand factors determine inverstors’ activities in both markets. This should lead to matching patterns of yield curves for sukūk and bonds comparable in terms of issuers, maturity, currency, size, liquidity and rating. Only a rough analysis of holding and trading patterns of conventional and Islamic sukūk investors was possible, as most sukūk market transactions are “over-the-counter” and not registered in the Bloomberg database. However, price information could be used for an analysis of yield curves of liquid sovereign sukūk and comparable bonds.

Conventional investors participate in the sukūk market, but their influence on prices is rather small, as they act primarily as intermediaries (i.e. market makers) as opposed to price setters. The yield curves of the selected bonds and sukūk widely match. This suggests that bonds and liquid sovereign sukūk belong to the same asset class. Furthermore, as turbulences in conventional markets are also reflected in the sukūk markets, Islamic investors themselves play a role in the transmission.

The study of holding patterns and of the market perception of sovereign sukūk and bonds required a focus on four countries with deep and (potentially) liquid sukūk markets (Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia and Hong Kong) and US$-denominated international securities. Some suitable combinations of sukūk and bonds are relatively young issuances with time series data for two to three years only. Data on holding patterns are sketchy and require interpretations based on market knowledge.

Parallel yield curves indicate that conventional investors do not perceive international sovereign sukūk as an asset class of their own distinct from conventional government bonds. This market perception of liquid international sovereign sukūk could have an impact on other types of sukūk (e.g. on international corporate sukūk) if sovereign sukūk are taken as pricing and performance benchmarks.

The paper sheds light on institutional investor behavior in the bond and sukūk markets and outlines data availability issues that constrain quantitative analyses in over-the-counter markets.

The aim of this study is to measure portfolio diversification benefits of the Turkey-based equity investors into top trading partner countries. Portfolio diversification benefits are analyzed from the viewpoint of two types of investors in Turkey: conventional equities investors and Islamic equity investors.

In order to evaluate the time-varying correlations of the trading partner country's stock index returns with the Turkish stock index returns, the multivariate-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity–dynamic conditional correlation (GARCH-DCC) is applied based on daily data covering 13 years' period between January 22, 2008 and January 22, 2021.

The results revealed that the US stock indices provide the most diversified benefit for both conventional and Islamic Turkey-based equity investors. In general, Islamic indices exhibit relatively lower correlation with trading partners than conventional indices. Turkey and Russia are recorded as the most volatile indices.

The diversification potential in trading partners for Turkey-based Islamic equity investors has not been studied yet. This study is to fill in this gap in the literature and to give fruitful insights to both conventional and Islamic investors.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the fund flow – performance relationship for Islamic and conventional equity funds in Malaysia.

The authors use panel regression models to estimate the relationship between fund flows and performance for Islamic and conventional equity funds in Malaysia from 2001 to 2009. The data for each fund include fund flows, assets under management, management expenses, fund age, portfolio turnover, fund risk and return and the number of funds in the fund’s family. The authors also include market returns and year effects. The sample consists of 127 Malaysian equity funds with at least 65 per cent domestic equity holdings comprising 35 Islamic and 92 conventional equity funds.

Islamic fund investors respond to performance in much the same way as conventional fund investors, increasing fund flows to better performing funds and decreasing fund flows to poorer performing funds. However, there is also evidence that Islamic fund investors are relatively less responsive toward poorly performing Islamic funds, suggesting an asymmetry in the expected positive fund flow – performance relationship, but only for Islamic fund investors. When choosing funds based on other fund attributes, Islamic fund investors again exhibit similar behaviour, and like conventional fund investors direct larger percentage fund flows into smaller funds as well as funds with larger past fund flows and higher expense ratios.

The authors were only able to access data on annual net fund flows not quarterly or monthly fund inflows and outflows as usual in developed markets and this may obscure some important aspects of investor decision-making. There is also insufficient data for matched-sample techniques, which may better control for fund-specific characteristics.

Islamic funds like conventional funds will experience increased fund flows with better performance and vice versa. However, Islamic fund investors appear somewhat less likely to remove monies from poorly performing funds. The authors believe this is because investors either place a premium on the non-return attributes of Shariah-compliant funds and/or wish to avoid search costs in finding another suitable Islamic fund. Apart from this, Islamic and conventional fund investors behave in a similar manner, and the authors believe that this is possible in Malaysia given the size and diversity of its Islamic fund sector.

This paper is one of the very few empirical studies concerning the behaviour of Islamic investors, particularly in Malaysia, primarily because of limitations in data availability.

Islamic finance and socially responsible investing (SRI) have been two of the most rapidly growing areas of finance over the last two decades. During this period, they have each grown at rates that far exceed that of the financial markets as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to find similarities and commonalities of both markets and identifies how both could benefit from each other.

The paper takes a comparative approach in comparing and contrasting two markets. The paper reviews the progress and driving forces in both markets and makes policy recommendations.

Islamic finance has grown at a very impressive rate over the last two decades, but the Islamic fixed income market remains under‐developed. SRI has become an increasingly common investment strategy during that same time period, but there is still insufficient supply of SRI fixed income instruments. The convergence of these two facts creates the opportunity for a fixed income product to be developed that could appeal to both SRI and Shariah (Islamic Law) compliant investors, and thereby serve as a bridge between the Islamic and conventional financial markets. The paper believes the product that could play this role is Sukuk for which the proceeds are used to fund economic development.

The paper takes a view from a financial expert's point of view which could be different from the scholars of Islamic legal system.

The paper provides an innovative view to two different markets and suggests that there are commonalities which need to be exploited for the benefit of both markets.

This is probably the first known attempt to related SRI financing to Islamic financing particularly Islamic capital markets.

This study examines the dynamics of the comovement and causal relationship between conventional (Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance coin) and Islamic (OneGram, X8X token and HelloGold) cryptocurrencies.

This study uses wavelet coherence approach to examine the time-varying lead-lag relationship between conventional and Islamic cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the authors use BEKK-GARCH model to estimate the optimal weights, hedge ratio and hedging effectiveness in pre-COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 period.

The authors find no significant comovement in pre-COVID-19. However, the authors find significant positive comovement in conventional and Islamic cryptocurrencies at the beginning of the pandemic, and in most cases, conventional cryptocurrencies are leading. X8X and HelloGold have no/weak correlation with conventional cryptocurrencies, implying that investors can diversify the risk by making an Islamic and conventional cryptocurrencies portfolio. The authors also calculate the optimal weights, hedge ratio and hedging effectiveness using the BEKK-GARCH model. Based on the optimal weights, for the portfolios of conventional–Islamic cryptocurrencies, investors are suggested to increase their investment in Islamic cryptocurrencies during the COVID-19 than normal period. The results of hedge ratios show that hedging costs are higher during COVID-19 than before.

The findings of the paper offer several practical policy implications for investors, portfolio manager, Shariah advisors and policymakers pertaining to asset allocation, risk management, forecasting and diversification. Specifically, investors can maximize the risk adjusted returns of their conventional cryptocurrencies portfolio by adding some portions of Islamic cryptocurrencies. Considering the comovement is time-varying, investors/manager should adjust their investment strategies frequently. For the entrepreneurs in crypto-industry, it is advised to introduce new Islamic cryptocurrencies, as it has a huge growth potential because of their distinct features and performance.

This is the first study that explores the linkages between conventional and Islamic cryptocurrencies, therefore this study extends the literature of Islamic finance, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies in pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 period. The study results provide insights to conventional crypto investor on how to manage their portfolio during normal and turbulent period.

This paper aims to provide an empirical evidence on the fund flows-past return performance relationship by also considering the management expense ratio, the portfolio turnover, the fund size and the fund age of Islamic equity funds (IEF) investors in comparison with conventional equity funds (CEF) investors.

By using panel data, the sample of Malaysian domestic managed equity funds is considered which comprises 20 individual funds from IEF and CEF from 2011 to 2013.

The results provide evidence that IEF investors have different factors when choosing funds in comparison with CEF investors. The study finds that the key factor influencing the fund flows of IEF is the management expense ratio, compared to the CEF which is fund size. This study also shows that all the fund characteristics of IEF and CEF are positively or negatively related to the fund flows.

The present study may be extended by considering other fund categories such as the money market fund, the balanced fund, the bond fund and the fixed income fund.

The empirical findings of this paper clearly call for fund managers and investors to review their investment policy. The results could also provide better information and guidance for investors as well policy makers on the factors that affect the fund flow for Malaysian Islamic funds and CEF.

This paper is among the earliest empirical evidence studies on the fund flows-past return performance relationship by focusing in a comparative manner on IEF investors and CEF investors in Malaysia.

This study comprehensively aims to review the key influential and intellectual aspects of spillovers between Islamic and conventional financial markets.

The study uses the bibliometric and content analysis methods using the VOSviewer software to analyse 52 academic documents derived from the Web of Sciences (WoS) between 2015 and June 2022.

The results demonstrate the influential aspects of spillovers between Islamic and conventional financial markets, including the leading authors, journals, countries and institutions and the intellectual aspects of literature. These aspects are synthesised into four main streams: research between stock indexes; studies between stock indexes, oil and precious metal; works between Sukuk, bond and indexes; and empirical studies review. The authors also propose future research directions in spillovers between Islamic and conventional financial markets.

Our study is subject to several limitations. Firstly, the authors only used the WoS database. Secondly, the study only includes papers and reviews written in English from the WoS. This study assists academic scholars, practitioners and regulatory bodies in further exploring the suggested issues in future studies and improving and predicting economic and financial stability.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no extant empirical studies have been conducted in this area of research interest.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the herding behavior in GCC Islamic stock markets.

The authors followed the methodology developed by Chiang and Zheng (2010) to test herding behavior. Cross-sectional tests have been considered in this paper. The authors use both OLS and GARCH estimations to examine herding behavior by using a sample of GCC Islamic stock markets.

By applying monthly data for the period between January 2006 and February 2016 for five Islamic GCC stock returns (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE), results suggest a significant evidence of herd behavior in Saudi and Qatari Islamic stock markets only. When the authors take into account the existence of asymmetry in herd behavior between down- and up-market periods, evidence of herding behavior during down market periods in the case of Qatar and Saudi Arabia was found. In addition, the authors found that Kuwaiti and Emirates Islamic stock markets herd with the local conventional stock market, showing the interdependencies between Islamic and conventional markets.

In this paper, the authors found an absence of herding behavior in some Islamic stock markets (Bahrain, Kuwait and Emirates). This is not the result of Shariah guidelines in these Islamic markets, but this is mainly due to the weak oscillations of returns which are very close to zero. In our future research, the authors could apply daily data and compare the results to those obtained in this paper by using monthly data.

This paper provides a practical framework in order to analyze the herding behavior concept for GCC Islamic stock markets. Its originality consists of linking the herding behavior to ethics and morality to verify whether the properties and guidelines of Islam are respected in Islamic stock markets. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other paper has treated the case of herding behavior in Islamic stock markets and taking into account the possible influence of the conventional market on the Islamic stock market that may impact herding behavior.

Introduction – The rapid flow of information between the markets eliminates the possibility of diversifying the portfolio by bringing the markets closer, and may cause the volatility in a market to spread to another market. In this context, revealing the relationships between conventional and participation markets or financial assets is important in terms of portfolio diversification and risk management.

Purpose – The major aim of this work is to analyse the existence of volatility spillover between conventional stock index and participation index based on the indexes in Turkish Capital Markets. BIST-30 and Katılım-30 indexes are used as the representatives of conventional stock index and participation index, respectively.

Methodology – Firstly, the univariate HYGARCH (1,d,1) parameters are calculated, and secondly, the dynamic equicorrelation (DECO) methodology is applied. DECO model is proposed to simplify structural assumptions by introducing a structure in which all twosomes of returns take the same correlation for a given time period. In this way, DECO model enables to have an optimal portfolio selection in comparison to an unrestricted time varying-dynamic correlation approaches and gives more advanced forecasting ability for the duration of the financial crisis periods compared to the various portfolios.

Findings – There is a strong correlation between BIST-30 and Katılım-30. They are affected by the same shocks. We expect to see different investor behaviours for Katılım-30 and BIST-30. However, they seem to have almost the same investor profile. In addition, there is a causality in both ways and volatility spillover between them.