StructureUS product is robo-advisory wrap-fee managed portfolios; the wrap fee bundles advisory and transaction costs; securities are pre-screened with AAOIFI plus an American Friends Screening Committee (AFSC) ethical overlay; trades execute via Alpaca Securities (FINRA/SIPC). Manzil also sub-advises the MNZL ETF (NASDAQ, launched 18 Nov 2025 by Empowered Funds/ETF Architect), tracking the Russell IdealRatings Manzil Halal USA Broad Market Custom Index (0.40% expense ratio, 400+ constituents). US home financing is listed as 'coming soon'.
An SEC-registered RIA (CRD#308500, registered 2020 as Aghaz, acquired by Manzil Canada / Murabaha Inc. in Nov 2024 and rebranded). Named, credentialled Shariah board (Dr. Shaher Abbas, Mufti Faraz Adam, Dr. Mohamed Anouar Gadhoum) with AAOIFI compliance stated in its SEC-filed wrap-fee brochure; it also sub-advises the MNZL ETF on NASDAQ. Yellow due to the recent acquisition transition, no AMJA fatwa, and US home finance not yet live.
Read the contract →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
2020 as Aghaz Investment Advisors LLC (Seattle); acquired by Murabaha Inc. (Manzil Canada) Nov 2024; rebranded Manzil Investment Advisors (Frisco TX).
Regulatory standing
SEC-registered investment adviser, CRD#308500 (registered 14 May 2020), Delaware LLC and wholly-owned subsidiary of Murabaha Inc. Client assets at Alpaca Securities LLC (FINRA/SIPC).
Shariah board
Who certifies it
Dr. Shaher Abbas (15+ years Islamic banking across the Americas/Europe/GCC), Mufti Faraz Adam (head of Amanah Advisors; Mufti qualification under Mufti Ebrahim Desai; MSc Islamic Finance), and Dr. Mohamed Anouar Gadhoum (PhD Islamic Finance, INCEIF).
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
AAOIFI-aligned screening is stated in the SEC-filed Form ADV wrap-fee brochure; no AMJA fatwa 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
US product is robo-advisory wrap-fee managed portfolios; the wrap fee bundles advisory and transaction costs; securities are pre-screened with AAOIFI plus an American Friends Screening Committee (AFSC) ethical overlay; trades execute via Alpaca Securities (FINRA/SIPC). Manzil also sub-advises the MNZL ETF (NASDAQ, launched 18 Nov 2025 by Empowered Funds/ETF Architect), tracking the Russell IdealRatings Manzil Halal USA Broad Market Custom Index (0.40% expense ratio, 400+ constituents). US home financing is listed as 'coming soon'.
This describes the structure in principle — it is not a verdict on the executed contract. How the contract actually behaves is what the checklist below tests.
From the public documents
How the contract actually works
Read from Manzil Investment Advisors (US)’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.
The US product is equity robo-advisory — no debt contract — so Shariah analysis focuses on screening quality. The three-member board is publicly named with strong credentials (Faraz Adam heads one of the UK's leading Islamic-finance advisory firms; Shaher Abbas has Americas-specific experience), and AAOIFI compliance is cited in the SEC-filed wrap-fee brochure; the MNZL prospectus is on file with the SEC. The acquisition from Aghaz to Manzil Canada introduces transition risk — investors should confirm the board's scope was reconfirmed post-acquisition to cover the full US suite. The AFSC ethical overlay adds a non-Shariah human-rights screen whose compatibility with strict AAOIFI compliance has not been independently opined on. No AMJA fatwa and no live US home-finance product yet.
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 Manzil Investment Advisors (US)’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 Manzil Investment Advisors (US), 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.
Was the Shariah board's scope formally reconfirmed after the Nov 2024 acquisition to cover the full US suite?
What is the full wrap-fee annual rate?
Is purification of non-compliant income calculated and paid by the platform or left to the investor?
Does the AFSC overlay exclude any companies AAOIFI would treat as compliant, and how is that disclosed?
Where can I access the MNZL prospectus and IdealRatings index methodology?
The honest gap
What we have not verified
- Post-acquisition Shariah-governance continuity not publicly reconfirmed.
- Wrap-fee rate not disclosed on the website.
- US home finance is 'coming soon' — no mortgage NMLS registration located.
- AFSC criteria not fully documented.
The reasoning
Why this verdict, and not another
A verdict is only as honest as the reasoning behind it. Here is why Manzil Investment Advisors (US) sits where it does — what keeps it off a clean pass, and what keeps it off an outright avoid.
Not a clean pass because
A recent acquisition transition (Nov 2024) with no public board reconfirmation, no AMJA fatwa, an undisclosed wrap-fee rate, and no live US home-finance product.
Not an outright avoid because
A verified SEC RIA with a named, strongly-credentialled Shariah board, AAOIFI compliance in its Form ADV, an SEC-filed ETF (MNZL) on NASDAQ, and Alpaca/SIPC custody.
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.