Regulated as
The site states Penfold Savings Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA, reference 826097 (read on the firm's page; the FCA register itself refuses automated reads). On protection its investment-principles page says: 'If the Investment provider of the Penfold Plan were to fail customers would be protected at 100% of their plan value' and 'In all other circumstances protection is up to £85,000'.
Full wordingShariah oversight
Penfold names no scholars. Its 2020 strategy note says: 'Each Sharia fund has its own elected Sharia board of people who monitor the fund, it's investments and the managing directors to make sure that it's being Sharia compliant the whole time' and that the board 'creates an annual Sharia certificate'. The fund is HSBC's; HSBC's own committee for that fund was not read for this entry.
Full wordingEstablished
Penfold Savings Limited; the site footer gives FCA reference 826097. Companies House lists the company as incorporated on 8 November 2018 (number 11668244), per the search listing read by our researcher.
Full wordingStructureA workplace or personal pension wrapper. The Sharia plan holds one fund, the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, so the Shariah quality of the pension is the Shariah quality of that fund's screen. The page's headline: 'Invest your pension in a way that follows Islamic investment principles'.
A personal pension whose Sharia plan is invested in a single screened fund: 'Your pension is invested in the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, which invests in companies around the world that meet Sharia investment principles'. Yellow because Penfold's own pages do not name the fund's Shariah board (they say each Sharia fund 'has its own elected Sharia board' that issues an annual certificate) and the fee page was not readable, so the cost of the wrapper is unverified here. Penfold's investment-principles page still quotes an £85,000 protection figure; FSCS deposit protection rose to £120,000 on 1 December 2025, and pension investment claims have their own rules, so confirm the current figure with Penfold.
Provider’s website ↗Provider white papers, FAQs or fatāwā were read, but the executed contract itself is not public. This rates our certainty, not the provider’s compliance.
Established & regulatory standing
The verifiable facts
Established
Penfold Savings Limited; the site footer gives FCA reference 826097. Companies House lists the company as incorporated on 8 November 2018 (number 11668244), per the search listing read by our researcher.
Regulatory standing
The site states Penfold Savings Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA, reference 826097 (read on the firm's page; the FCA register itself refuses automated reads). On protection its investment-principles page says: 'If the Investment provider of the Penfold Plan were to fail customers would be protected at 100% of their plan value' and 'In all other circumstances protection is up to £85,000'.
Shariah board
Who certifies it
Penfold names no scholars. Its 2020 strategy note says: 'Each Sharia fund has its own elected Sharia board of people who monitor the fund, it's investments and the managing directors to make sure that it's being Sharia compliant the whole time' and that the board 'creates an annual Sharia certificate'. The fund is HSBC's; HSBC's own committee for that fund was not read for this entry.
A named, credentialled board is a real signal — but a provider’s own board certifying its own product is not the same as arm’s-length review. Weigh it alongside the independent commentary below.
Independent scholarly review
What independent scholars have said
No ruling by a body outside Penfold or HSBC was located.
Independent commentary is weighed, not treated as a final personal ruling. A body that rules one way is one respected voice, not a universal consensus — and rulings can lag changes to a live contract.
How the structure works
The mechanics, in principle
A workplace or personal pension wrapper. The Sharia plan holds one fund, the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, so the Shariah quality of the pension is the Shariah quality of that fund's screen. The page's headline: 'Invest your pension in a way that follows Islamic investment principles'.
This describes the structure in principle — it is not a verdict on the executed contract. Note too that FCA/PRA regulation guarantees consumer protection and solvency oversight, not Shariah-compliance; the checklist below is what tests the fiqh.
From the public documents
How the contract actually works
Read from Penfold — Sharia Pension’s own public materials — white papers, product pages, FAQs and fatāwā — not its executed contract, which is generally not published. Where a point is undisclosed, it is said plainly rather than guessed. Sources are listed below.
A pension wrapper is a tax shell; what matters is the fund inside it. Here that is a single HSBC index fund tracking a Shariah-screened index, which is a defensible structure in principle. What we could not verify: the fund's board and certificate (not on Penfold's pages), Penfold's charges (the pricing page did not load), and whether any cash held in the plan earns interest. Honest limit: no fund factsheet or key features document was read.
The Six-Pillar test
The questions that decide it
This is the universal lens this site applies to every home-finance contract, anywhere. Read each pillar as a question to put to Penfold — Sharia Pension’s executed contract — not its brochure.
- 1
Real ownership
Does the financier genuinely take ownership of the asset — even briefly — and bear a real owner's risk, rather than only ever holding a debt secured against it?
- 2
Risk-sharing
If the asset is destroyed or its value collapses, does the financier share that loss in proportion to its stake, or is the customer left bearing it alone?
- 3
Rent vs interest
In a lease/co-ownership, is the rent benchmarked to a genuine market rent for the property — or is it calibrated to an interest rate (a base-rate + margin) in disguise?
- 4
Default mechanism
On default, does the contract behave like the end of a real lease/partnership — or does it accelerate like a loan, demanding the full outstanding 'principal' plus charges?
- 5
No guaranteed pre-fixed return
Is the financier's return tied to real ownership and risk, or is it a pre-fixed, guaranteed sum that arrives regardless of what happens to the asset?
- 6
Substance over form
Strip away the Arabic labels: does the cashflow, risk, and outcome differ from a conventional loan — or is it the same economics wearing a compliant name (ḥiyal)?
Before you sign
What to ask Penfold — Sharia Pension, in writing
Put these to the provider in writing and keep the answers. The reply — not the marketing — is what tells you whether the structure holds.
What are Penfold's total annual charges on the Sharia plan, including the fund's own charge?
Who sits on the Shariah committee of the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, and where is its latest certificate?
Is any uninvested cash in my plan held in an interest-bearing account?
What protection applies to my plan today, given the £85,000 figure on your site?
The honest gap
What we have not verified
- Penfold's charges on the Sharia plan.
- The HSBC fund's Shariah committee and purification policy.
- The current protection figure for pension assets.
The reasoning
Why this verdict, and not another
A verdict is only as honest as the reasoning behind it. Here is why Penfold — Sharia Pension sits where it does — what keeps it off a clean pass, and what keeps it off an outright avoid.
Not a clean pass because
Charges unverified, no named scholars on Penfold's pages, and a stale protection figure.
Not an outright avoid because
An FCA-authorised provider whose Sharia plan holds a mainstream Shariah-screened index fund.
Sources
What this read is built on
The verifiable references behind this page — provider documents and independent scholarly resolutions. Read them yourself; do not take our summary on trust.