IGDA — Invesco Dow Jones Islamic Global Developed Markets UCITS ETF Review

IGDA (Invesco Dow Jones Islamic Global Developed Markets UCITS ETF) launched in January 2022 and has rapidly become the largest Shariah-compliant ETF globally with $1.13B in AUM. It tracks the Dow Jones Islamic Market Developed Markets Index, applying DJIM screening methodology.

The fund uses full replication — it owns all index constituents rather than sampling — and accumulates dividends (reinvests them) rather than distributing. This makes it particularly tax-efficient for European investors in accumulating jurisdictions.

IGDA is managed by Invesco and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its UCITS structure provides EU-wide passporting rights, making it accessible across European brokerages.

IGDA uses the Dow Jones Islamic Market methodology, which applies a two-layer screening process. Business activity screens exclude companies in prohibited sectors (banking, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons). Financial ratio screens use a 24-month average market capitalization as the denominator.

The DJIM financial ratio thresholds are: total debt less than 30% of 24-month average market cap, interest-bearing securities less than 30%, and cash plus receivables less than 70% of total assets. Interest income must be below 5% of total revenue (calculated separately from the 5% impure revenue threshold).

The 24-month averaging period is a key feature — it smooths out market volatility and prevents temporary price fluctuations from affecting compliance status. This results in more stable index composition compared to spot market cap approaches.

IGDA has delivered a 10.48% CAGR since inception in January 2022, with a 1-year return of 10.29% and YTD 2026 return of 7.62%. Its top 10 holdings represent approximately 40.42% of the portfolio — a moderate concentration level for a 500-stock fund.

Geographic allocation reflects global developed market capitalization: North America approximately 60%, Europe 20%, Japan 12%, and Asia-Pacific ex-Japan 8%. Sector composition is typical of Shariah-screened indices: technology approximately 35%, healthcare 15%, consumer goods 12%, industrials 10%.

Compared to ISWD (iShares MSCI World Islamic), IGDA uses a different index methodology (DJIM vs MSCI), charges 0.10% more (0.40% vs 0.30%), but has larger AUM ($1.13B vs $936M) and accumulates rather than distributes dividends.

Both IGDA and ISWD provide global developed-market halal equity exposure, but they differ in key ways. ISWD uses MSCI Islamic screening (33.33% thresholds, total assets denominator) while IGDA uses DJIM screening (30% thresholds, 24-month average market cap denominator). DJIM is slightly more conservative.

ISWD charges 0.30% and distributes dividends semi-annually. IGDA charges 0.40% and accumulates dividends. For investors in tax jurisdictions where accumulation is more efficient (e.g., many European countries), IGDA's higher fee may be offset by tax savings.

ISWD has been running since 2007 (longest track record), while IGDA launched in 2022 (larger AUM despite shorter history). Both are valid choices for core global halal equity allocation.