Islamic funds took a hit in early April as global equity markets sank, before recovering as worldwide tremors from US-initiated trade wars stabilized, making it another strong month for Shariah investments.
The S&P Global BMI Shariah tumbled almost 8% in the first week of the Trump administration’s flip-flop on tariffs. But it finished April flat, as China looked ready to make the kind of trade alliances the US would not.
Consequently, US stocks – measured by the S&P 500 Index – ended down a third straight month in 2025, while global equities – tracked by MSCI World Index – clambered to safety for the first time since January.
As of the 5th May 2025, the IFN Investor Funds Database reported a total of 2,528 public Islamic funds managed by 479 asset management firms, with collective assets under management (AuM) of US$516.98 billion.
Real estate
In the Islamic world, funders, dealmakers and investors regained their mojo after the early jolt to sentiment. The darling asset class for Shariah in April was property, with Islamic REITs on the lips – if not the minds – of almost every major player.
In Malaysia’s Langkawi island, the Aman Seterra Sanctuary will aim to attract retirees from all over the world in what would be a new Islamic investment opportunity.
US-based ETF Bureau is seeking to include Middle East clientele for its RITA exchange-traded fund (ETF) which uses a tri-filtered algorithm to pick the best Shariah compliant properties around the planet.
In Manama, Bahrain Islamic Bank announced the sale of its real estate investment portfolio for BHD14.8 million (US$39.36 million), while in Kuwait, KIB Takaful Insurance wants Gravity Tower, an investment property in the Sharq area.
In the UK, conventional UK realtor Focus Property Investments turned toward more Islamic dealmaking with its hybrid offers. Also on the property front, Saudi Arabia’s Derayah REIT Fund secured a five-year Islamic financing facility worth SAR750 million (US$200 million) to refinance its current obligations.
Deals, investments
On the deal front, Goldman Sachs is to provide discretionary services to its wealth management customers in partnership with Mashreq, whose footprint extends to Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. State Street launched a global equity Shariah compliant fund with UAE asset manager ASB Capital.
Over in Australia, Melbourne-based Hejaz secured a EUR100 million (US$110.6 million) funding facility from a respected UAE private wealth group, with a further EUR300 million (US$331.8 million) committed to expand its Shariah offerings.
Jeddah-headquartered alternative investments manager Sidra Capital is extending its debut into Australia with a private credit investment fund focusing on the mining and energy sector.
UAE’s digital-first Islamic bank, ruya, partnered with Fuze to allow customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.
Bangladesh-based Prime Bank Investment will integrate its digital investment platform, PrimeInvest, with Zaytoon Business Solutions’ Village Digital Booths to allow investment opportunities to be more accessible across rural Bangladesh.
Fund offerings
UK-founded Mnaara launched the new investment cycle for its Mnaara Income Strategy private market offering for financing of secured trades of commodities, mainly non-perishable natural resources.
Karachi-based Lucky Investments raised PKR50 billion (US$177.8 million) for its inaugural open-ended money market fund – a record for a mutual fund IPO in Pakistan – and is said to look out for more Islamic products in the coming weeks as it shapes itself as adviser and asset manager for other financial service providers.
Precious metals were on the product front as Malaysia’s Bank Muamalat launched MiGOLD, a Shariah compliant gold fund investing in ETFs together with physical storage and liquidity management of gold. Bank Rakyat launched the eGold Account-i – an online account for investment in gold with 999.9 purity accredited by the London Bullion Market Association.
Insurance companies and pension funds joined in the action in Egypt, where Arab African Investment Holding opened subscription for its Cumulative Return Kenz Multi-Issuance Fund, with the Kenz – Shariah portion of the fund tracking the EGX33 Shariah Index with a minimum correlation of 80%.
In Africa, Kenya’s SIB Najah plans to introduce three additional asset classes to its Mansa-X Shariah Special Fund by Q2 2025. It aims to launch its own Shariah compliant pension scheme by middle of 2025.
Nigeria’s Marble Capital, concerned with the weakening naira, is planning a Shariah compliant US dollar-denominated fund to fulfill demand for investment opportunities priced in something stabler than some African currencies.
Breaking from conventional asset allocation control, WinVeston Capital is relying wholly on a quant strategy for its latest fund, treading almost uncharted waters in Saudi Arabia.
The SEDCO Capital Global Monthly Distributions Fund is to parlay a minimum 20% of its AuM in international markets outside Saudi Arabia as it aims to tap into multiple Shariah compliant asset classes.
Regulatory enhancements
Aiming to raise the investing game in the Muslim world and adopting a global viewpoint, a new AI-enabled, Shariah compliant ESG Index is scheduled for launch in June 2025 in Istanbul. The project was announced by the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, in collaboration with Spectreco.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is making regulatory changes for mutual and pension funds to smoothly transition to a Riba-free environment by 2028. Pakistan also has the most Islamic fixed income funds globally as of Q1 2025, hosting 36 funds in all with US$878.1 million in AuM, data from the IFN Investor Funds Database showed.
In Ethiopia, at least 50 company listings have been planned in the next five years, along with a platform for the listing and trading of government and corporate Sukuk, as the Ethiopian Securities Exchange signed an MoU with Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa and FSD Ethiopia.
The Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority proposed to allow the offering of special purpose acquisition companies on the Nomu parallel market to encourage more private sector company listings.
In the 10-member ASEAN, regional finance ministers and central bank governors reaffirmed their commitment to advancing Islamic finance and mobilizing Shariah-friendly capital for infrastructure development, along with green financing initiatives.The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has surpassed its 2025 climate financing target, exceeding 60% in 2024, with Shariah compliant deals in the mix through collaboration with the IsDB. The multilateral bank told IFN Investor that it is still open to Islamic financing.
The Maldives, which is restructuring its economy, said BML Islamic will provide a financing facility worth MVR350 million (US$22.66 million) to support a series of initiatives for the development of the country’s Islamic Waqf fund.
Fintech race
Fintech Manzil is planning a REIT debut in its Canadian home base, after rolling out by mid-May an Islamic robo-investment platform that will mark its first US product. The twin-pronged strategy is to more than double AuM at the Ontario-based firm, from a current US$100 million to US$250 million by the end of 2025 and US$500 million by 2026.
Start-up Haball, which offers financing to SMEs and multinationals, raised US$52 million in a pre-Series A funding round to help the digital supply chain financier expand into the GCC.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank launched its fractional Sukuk platform, allowing investors to participate from as low as US$1,000 in instruments previously accessible only to institutional investors or high net-worth customers.
Results
First Abu Dhabi Bank’s investment banking and markets unit charted a 15% year-on-year and 22% quarter-on-quarter revenue growth for Q1 2025, while reporting a 22% rise in annual group pretax profit of AED6.13 billion (US$1.67 billion).
Qatari conglomerate Estithmar Holding announced a net profit of QAR170 million (US$46.7 million) for Q1 2025, up 50% compared to the same period last year, while revenue rose 64% to QAR1.31 billion (US$359.62 million).
Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance reported that “a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern” after reporting a loss of AED28.41 million (US$7.74 million) for the year ended the 31st December 2024. Its accumulated losses of AED181.41 (US$49.4 million) on the same date represent 80% of the group’s share capital.
Leadership changes
Malaysia saw a slew of top executive appointments – with Nor Daliya Mohd Daud appointed acting CEO at Berjaya Mutual, having left her CEO post at Opus Islamic Asset Management in February 2025. Meanwhile, Opus Islamic’s new CEO is Noor Aini Shaik Awab – formerly executive director and CEO at Hong Leong Islamic Asset Management.
Kevin Wong Weng Tuck was promoted from chief investment officer to be CEO of AmFunds Management, replacing Goh Wee Peng – who has moved to parent firm AmBank heading the integrated wealth management unit.
Bursa Malaysia RAM Capital appointed Wan Fadzil Wan Saifuddin as head of investor development; Nor Azam M Taib was appointed CEO at Perbadanan Nasional – a Malaysian government-owned entity which provides Shariah funding to promote franchise activities – while Muzaffar Hisham, former CEO of Islamic banking at Malayan Banking, is to take charge of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia.
Bank Negara Malaysia, meanwhile, appointed Prof Dr Amir Shaharuddin and Prof Dr Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman for three years till the 30th April 2027 as two new members of its Shariah advisory council, bringing the total membership to nine.
Turkiye’s Al Baraka Islamic Bank – Bahrain has appointed Yasser Al Saad as its chief for treasury and investment.
Muzzafar Ahmed Mirza has become commissioner at the SECP for a period of three years. A former chief prosecutor and executive director of the SECP, Muzzafar joined the agency in 2012.
Shadi Ahmed Zahran resigned as senior deputy group CEO-finance of Kuwait Finance House for personal reasons. Mohamed Sultan Al Habsi has taken up the appointment of acting CEO at Oman Investment Bank, the country’s first dedicated corporate investment bank.
