StructureHalal Custom Indexing starts from a conventional index (e.g. S&P 500) and removes non-compliant holdings to AAOIFI thresholds (interest-bearing debt/market cap <30%, interest-earning deposits/market cap <30%, non-compliant income/total <5%), screened with MuslimXchange. Quarterly rebalancing aligned to financial-statement releases. Margin, short selling and securities lending are disabled — all trades cash-only. Pricing is flat monthly ($199–$10,000/month by portfolio band) with 0% AUM and bundled financial planning, tax strategy and retirement accounts.
A state-registered RIA (CRD#325403, McLean VA) offering halal custom indexing and full financial planning at flat monthly fees with zero AUM%. It carries arguably the strongest named Shariah governance of any newer US investing provider: AAOIFI certification via Amanie International with four named scholars including Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari and Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar — both sitting AAOIFI Shariah Board members — renewed February 2026. Yellow because it is state-registered only (VA/MD/NC/NY/CA), founded c.2023 with limited track record, and the flat fee is steep on small portfolios.
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
~2023 (app published Oct 2023; founder/CEO Tarif Homsi, ex-UBS/J.P. Morgan). Principal office McLean, VA.
Regulatory standing
State-registered RIA, CRD#325403, registered in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, New York and California. Client assets custodied at Charles Schwab (SIPC-protected).
Shariah board
Who certifies it
Via Amanie International (AAOIFI-certified): Dr. Mohamed Ali Elgari (Chairman; AAOIFI board member), Dr. Mohd Daud Bakar (AAOIFI board member; former central-bank Shariah board chair), Dr. Muhammad Amin Ali Qattan, and Dr. Osama Al Dereai; plus screening adviser Faraz Omar (AAOIFI CSAA, MuslimXchange).
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 certification issued by Amanie International, most recently dated 3 February 2026 and posted on NoorVest's certifications page; quarterly Shariah portfolio reviews. 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
Halal Custom Indexing starts from a conventional index (e.g. S&P 500) and removes non-compliant holdings to AAOIFI thresholds (interest-bearing debt/market cap <30%, interest-earning deposits/market cap <30%, non-compliant income/total <5%), screened with MuslimXchange. Quarterly rebalancing aligned to financial-statement releases. Margin, short selling and securities lending are disabled — all trades cash-only. Pricing is flat monthly ($199–$10,000/month by portfolio band) with 0% AUM and bundled financial planning, tax strategy and retirement accounts.
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 NoorVest’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.
This is equity portfolio management — no debt contract — so the Shariah question is screening integrity, and here the governance is unusually strong: two of the four named scholars (Elgari, Daud Bakar) are sitting AAOIFI board members whose credentials are independently verifiable through AAOIFI's public lists, and the Amanie AAOIFI certification (Feb 2026) is publicly posted. Cash-only trading removes common grey areas, and Schwab custody with SIPC is the strongest consumer protection among newer providers. Limitations: state-registration restricts it to five states; the c.2023 founding gives a thin track record; the flat fee can be expensive on small portfolios (e.g. $199/month on $20k ≈ 12% annualised); and there is no US-based independent fatwa beyond the Amanie AAOIFI certificate. The quarterly review reports themselves are not public — only the summary certification page is.
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 NoorVest’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 NoorVest, 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.
Which states are you currently registered in, and is SEC-level federal registration planned?
May I receive the full Amanie International AAOIFI certification letter?
How is purification of inadvertently held non-compliant income calculated?
At what portfolio size does the flat monthly fee beat a typical 0.5% AUM model?
Are there transaction or platform fees at Schwab beyond the monthly subscription?
The honest gap
What we have not verified
- Precise incorporation date not confirmed (App Store Oct 2023 used as proxy).
- No AMJA or US-based independent fatwa located.
- Full state list beyond the five confirmed not itemised.
- Quarterly Shariah review reports are not publicly posted.
The reasoning
Why this verdict, and not another
A verdict is only as honest as the reasoning behind it. Here is why NoorVest sits where it does — what keeps it off a clean pass, and what keeps it off an outright avoid.
Not a clean pass because
State-registered only (five states), founded c.2023 with minimal track record, a flat fee that can be prohibitive on small portfolios, and no AMJA fatwa.
Not an outright avoid because
The strongest named Shariah board of any new provider here — Elgari + Daud Bakar (both AAOIFI board members) — with a publicly-verifiable Amanie AAOIFI certification (Feb 2026), cash-only trading as a structural safeguard, Schwab/SIPC custody, and zero AUM fees that remove the asset-gathering conflict.
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.