IFN Investor Monthly Round-up: Renewed enthusiasm for Shariah opportunities in January

As the leading resource of public Islamic funds, the IFN Investor Funds Database recorded 2,656 public Islamic funds managed by 500 asset management firms, with a combined total of US$719.51 billion in AuM as at the 30^th January 2026.

A key insight from this database revealed that the number of new Shariah compliant fund launches stabilized in 2025, after surging during the COVID-19 pandemic period – as the asset management sector shrugged off the lingering impact of various financial constraints and stimulus introduced to counter the pandemic-induced economic downturn.

Looking at prospects for 2026, while it is anticipated to be “business as usual” for the most part, Shariah investors are already identifying and acting on what they perceive would be a need for fresh caution on the global front.

Regulatory impact

Saudi Arabia’s decision to loosen restrictions on foreign property ownership is beginning to reshape how international capital accesses the Kingdom’s real estate market, with digital platforms positioning themselves as intermediaries.

Pakistan welcomed three new REITs – a testament to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan amending its regulations for fast-track listings as well as to improve Shariah governance alignment, among others.

Qatar Financial Centre, Dubai International Financial Centre and Abu Dhabi Global Market mutually recognized each other’s data protection frameworks – marking a key step toward regional regulatory harmonization.

SNB Capital launched its market access services to enable foreign financial institutions to provide custody and trading access to their clients on the Saudi exchange – leveraging on the opening to all categories of foreign investors, effective the 1^st February 2026.

The Bursa Malaysia Quality 50 Shariah Index is Bursa Malaysia’s first in-house index based on financial performance – tracking 50 listed companies with strong financials that are recognized as Shariah compliant. 

The establishment of the Oman Global Financial Centre was approved as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen the Sultanate’s position as a regional financial hub to target investments.

Emerging trends

Saudi Arabia, the global beacon for Islamic finance, is making an assertive – and for some, uncomfortable – push into gaming and e-sports, aiming for it to be an economic growth engine under Vision 2030.

Rapid growth of residents in the UAE’s main Abu Dhabi and Dubai emirates, with each already housing over four million populations in 2025, is creating a growing opportunity for investments in educational facilities.

Shariah compliant financier Nomo Bank is projecting that “demand from the GCC for UK residential property has the potential to be boosted by falling borrowing costs and an improved macroeconomic outlook” in 2026.

Shariah offerings

Wahed launched two new ethically-filtered Ireland-domiciled ETFs – one tracking the S&P 500 Shariah Index and the other the Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index. Vennre launched its first offering into Saudi Arabia with access to the Masar Makkah Fund – tapping a planned development at the forefront of AlMasjid AlHaram.

Piccadilly’s new GBP400 million (US$535.41 million) Brompton Capital fund, which targets recovery in the UK commercial sector, aims to capitalize on the UK property market entering a “new, more positive cycle” in 2026.

With its first ETF on the US Nasdaq, Toronto-based fintech Manzil is executing its vision to scale rapidly – crystalizing plans made possible in the year after buying its US peer Aghaz Investments. Gulf Islamic Investments, which aims to triple its AuM by 2030, is keeping its attention on UK potentials, even as it continues expanding rapidly within Saudi Arabia.

Jadwa Investment completed the first close at over SAR300 million (US$80 million) for its first blind-pool regional private credit fund, Jadwa GCC Diversified Private Credit Fund, with a target size of up to SAR750 million (US$200 million).

Quilter Cheviot launched a Shariah compliant discretionary portfolio service for UK-based clients, combining direct investment in equities and Sukuk.

Malaysia’s TA Investment Management adopted a growth-oriented Shariah portfolio differentiated by an Asia lens. Maybank Asset Management launched the Shariah compliant MAMG Growth and Income-I Fund, which feeds into the Schroder Maybank Growth and Income-I Fund.

Blockchain and fintech

The New York Stock Exchange, which features some of the most active Shariah compliant counters that are constituents of many Islamic indices and fund portfolios, is developing a 24/7 platform for trading and on-chain settlement of tokenized securities.

UK-based Predictiva is testing whether Shariah compliant AI strategies can make crypto investable without sacrificing ethics or risk management with its upcoming Bahrain-based crypto fund as digital assets edge into mainstream finance.

Islamic alternative ‘campaigns’ from EdificeX feature a Shariah compliant blockchain tool that bypasses rigid, paperwork-heavy banking systems – to transform potential homebuyers into realty brokers.

Digital platform Gold Souq launched in Bahrain, making it the first digital app in the Kingdom to provide Shariah compliant saving, investing and trading gold services. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is offering crypto investments on its platform powered by Morpheus Technology (Fuze).

UAE’s Tharwa integrated its Shariah compliant stablecoin, thUSD, into Real Finance’s blockchain – fully collateralized by a diversified portfolio of real-world assets, namely Sukuk, gold, UAE real estate and oil.

Bengaluru-based Pyse received the Non-Objection Certificate from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to distribute PYSE Green Velocity 1, a token to fractionalize lease-based cash flows from electric motorcycles used for deliveries in Dubai.

Deals and partnerships

Katch Investment Group joined forces with Valpre Capital to launch a new platform that aims to deliver premium student beds across the UK, targeting undersupplied hubs like London and Bristol, attracting both conventional and Shariah investors.

Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners (ADCP) announced a strategic partnership with Bain Capital’s latest flagship PE fund. ADCP is a joint venture between Mubadala Capital, part of the UAE sovereign fund, Mubadala Investment Company and Alpha Wave Global.

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Khaleej Training and Education Company and Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group signed a non-binding MoU to explore merging their respective education assets through a Shariah compliant structure, plus a possible IPO before the end of the decade.

Kuwait’s Gulf Capital Investment (InvestGB) inked a deal with CVC – which sees CVC launching a tailored version of its PE strategies for InvestGB clients.

Kamco Invest and Santander Alternative Investments announced a EUR300 million (US$349.35 million) partnership to offer Shariah compliant, income generating investment opportunities in the European real estate private credit space.

Arcapita Group Holdings forged a joint venture with Cloud Capital to acquire a 21MW data center located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with plans to expand its capacity to 31MW.

BlueFive Capital led a US$230 million seed raise into Mal, the AI-native Islamic digital bank founded by UAE fintech Botim’s ex-CEO Abdallah Abu-Sheikh. Mal lays claim to be the world’s first AI-native Islamic financial platform – it is aiming to launch later in 2026.

Investcorp forged a distribution deal with digital real-estate investment platform Stake to offer Shariah compliant opportunities. Vennre closed a US$9.6 million pre-series A round – through a hybrid equity and debt structure – co-led by Vision Ventures and anb seed by anb capital.

Significant developments

Janus Henderson Group, which has Shariah offerings among its almost US$500 billion AuM, is being acquired by Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst for US$7.4 billion in cash. The investor group funding this purchase includes Qatar Investment Authority, Sun Hung Kai & Co as well as MassMutual.

The Global Islamic Finance Impact Program for Climate, Nature and Development formalized its establishment as an independent legal entity, marking its transition from a multi-stakeholder initiative into a fully constituted global platform – which aims to mobilize at least US$1.5 billion in Shariah-aligned capital over five years to support climate, nature and development outcomes across the Global South.

HSBC launched its new UAE asset management business and announced the registration of 10 new onshore investment funds with the Securities & Commodities Authority of the UAE – becoming one of the first global asset managers to establish and register an onshore fund range in the Emirates.

Mansoor Al-Khater was appointed CEO of Qatar Financial Centre Authority, effective the 11^th January 2026. Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki was promoted to CEO at CGS International Securities Malaysia as of January 2026 and Alan Inn Wei Loon was appointed country head.

AlBaraka Capital, a leading Egyptian Islamic non-bank financial institution that offers investment products and services, appointed Amir Sherif as its CEO from the 1^st January 2026. Fintech Dija, established in 2024 to help bridge the gender wealth gap by empowering women into ethical and Halal investing, is being closed.