Comments on: Dharmic finance http://www.swadharma.org/2008/12/30/dharmic-finance/ The voice of Dharma Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:48:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Saketh http://www.swadharma.org/2008/12/30/dharmic-finance/comment-page-1/#comment-38 Saketh Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:40:01 +0000 http://www.harvarddharma.org/wp/wordpress/?p=498#comment-38 I don't think you've missed anything, Vikram -- they appear to simply be branding for South Asian markets. I have not come across any consistent injunctions in Dharmic traditions against economic concepts which are forbidden in Islam.  <div> </div> <div>Because it appeared to be a marketing ploy, the religious imagery on the company's main page was disconcerting. <div> </div> <div>It will be interesting to see how Dharma Investments markets itself in coming years, especially considering that it has secured an index with Dow Jones.</div> </div> I don’t think you’ve missed anything, Vikram — they appear to simply be branding for South Asian markets. I have not come across any consistent injunctions in Dharmic traditions against economic concepts which are forbidden in Islam. 

Because it appeared to be a marketing ploy, the religious imagery on the company’s main page was disconcerting.

It will be interesting to see how Dharma Investments markets itself in coming years, especially considering that it has secured an index with Dow Jones.
]]> By: Vikram http://www.swadharma.org/2008/12/30/dharmic-finance/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Vikram Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:13:06 +0000 http://www.harvarddharma.org/wp/wordpress/?p=498#comment-37 Interesting post, Saketh. I had seen "ethical" mutual funds, including mutual funds targeted at Muslim investors, but I had never seen specifically "Dharmic" funds. I think there is at least one key difference between Islamic and Dharmic finance. While both Islamic and Dharmic financial products must adhere to certain ethical standards, Islamic finance actually requires a complete redesign of several financial instruments that we might take for granted because of the Koran's prohbition of <em>riba</em> (interest) and <em>gharar</em> (risk). For example, even conventional mortgages are off-limits. As far as I could tell from Dharma Investments' website, Dharmic finance has no such prohibitions on interest and risk, so Hindu and Buddhist investors can still buy conventional financial products as long as they adhere to the required ethical guidelines. In other words, I don't think the structure of the "conventional" financial system, which has interest rates and the trading of risk at its core, contradicts anything in Hinduism. Am I missing something? Interesting post, Saketh. I had seen “ethical” mutual funds, including mutual funds targeted at Muslim investors, but I had never seen specifically “Dharmic” funds.

I think there is at least one key difference between Islamic and Dharmic finance. While both Islamic and Dharmic financial products must adhere to certain ethical standards, Islamic finance actually requires a complete redesign of several financial instruments that we might take for granted because of the Koran’s prohbition of riba (interest) and gharar (risk). For example, even conventional mortgages are off-limits. As far as I could tell from Dharma Investments’ website, Dharmic finance has no such prohibitions on interest and risk, so Hindu and Buddhist investors can still buy conventional financial products as long as they adhere to the required ethical guidelines. In other words, I don’t think the structure of the “conventional” financial system, which has interest rates and the trading of risk at its core, contradicts anything in Hinduism. Am I missing something?

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