StructureOffers diversified portfolios of Shariah-screened ETFs/equities, sukuk and gold across risk tiers, reviewed against AAOIFI standards. It also lists the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL), which tracks the FTSE USA Shariah Index — a screened US equity portfolio. Per-holding dividend-purification policy should be confirmed against the prospectus/disclosures.
An investment, not a mortgage — an SEC-registered robo-adviser with an external Shariah committee (Shariah Review Bureau) following AAOIFI guidelines. Screened-equity products clear the structural lens more cleanly than home finance. Still verify the screening thresholds and dividend-purification policy.
Read the contract →Established & regulatory standing
The verifiable facts
Established
Conceptualised 2015; automated platform launched 2017, HQ New York. Reported ~US$1bn AUM across US/UK/Malaysia (press-reported, not from a primary filing).
Regulatory standing
Wahed Invest LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser (US); the group is also regulated by the FCA (UK) and ADGM (UAE). Investments carry market risk; confirm investor-protection scope for your account entity.
Shariah board
Who certifies it
Shariah Review Bureau (SRB) is appointed as the Shariah Committee, supported by in-house scholars; the firm follows AAOIFI guidelines and is an AAOIFI associate member.
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.
How the structure works
The mechanics, in principle
Offers diversified portfolios of Shariah-screened ETFs/equities, sukuk and gold across risk tiers, reviewed against AAOIFI standards. It also lists the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL), which tracks the FTSE USA Shariah Index — a screened US equity portfolio. Per-holding dividend-purification policy should be confirmed against the prospectus/disclosures.
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 Wahed Invest’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.
Audit V2 (methodology-grounded). Like any screened-equity product these are ownership stakes, not debt instruments, so the home-finance lens does not apply; what is auditable is the screen, and Wahed's most transparently-documented component is the HLAL ETF, which tracks the FTSE USA Shariah Index — a published rule-set screened by FTSE Russell's partner Yasaar and overseen by Yasaar's Shariah Board. (1) Business-activity screen — companies are excluded where more than 5% of revenue comes from conventional (interest-based) finance, alcohol and intoxicants, pork and non-halal food, tobacco, weapons/defence, or adult entertainment. (2) Financial-ratio screen — and here the FTSE methodology is notably conservative because every ratio uses TOTAL ASSETS as the denominator rather than market capitalisation: debt must be under 33.333% of total assets, cash plus interest-bearing items under 33.333% of total assets, and accounts receivable plus cash under 50% of total assets. Using a total-assets base (a relatively stable accounting figure) rather than a market-cap base means a holding does not drift in and out of compliance with share-price swings — a deliberately less speculative design, and on its face a stricter test than the market-cap denominators used by some other screens (e.g. S&P's 49%-of-market-cap receivables rule on SP Funds). Beyond HLAL, Wahed's managed portfolios are screened against AAOIFI standards under the Shariah Review Bureau (SRB), an AAOIFI associate, with residual impure income to be purified. Honest limits worth weighing: the exact screen thresholds for the non-HLAL managed holdings are governed by SRB/AAOIFI but are not published as a public line-by-line rule-set the way the FTSE index methodology is, so for those the verdict rests on the adviser's attestation rather than an independently-readable screen; the per-holding dividend-purification calculation (automatic vs. investor-actioned) should be confirmed against current disclosures; and index methodologies are periodically revised, so reconfirm the live FTSE USA Shariah ground rules before relying on a specific threshold.
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 Wahed Invest’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 Wahed Invest, 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 exact AAOIFI screen thresholds are applied, and how often is the portfolio re-screened?
How is dividend/income purification calculated, and is it automatic or left to me?
What are the all-in fees (management fee + underlying ETF expense ratios)?
Which legal entity holds my account in my jurisdiction, and what investor protection applies?
The honest gap
What we have not verified
- Founding-year sources conflict (2015 vs 2017) — verify the formal entity registration date.
- AUM figures are press-reported, not from a primary filing; confirm current AUM via Form ADV.
- The per-holding purification policy was not fully detailed in the sources reviewed.
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.