IFN Investor Weekly Round-up: 19th – 25th May 2026

The IFN Investor Funds Database, the leading intelligence platform on Islamic public fund offerings, recorded 2,734 funds managed by 516 asset management firms, with a combined total AuM of US$445.59 billion as at the 25^th May 2026.

Granular data revealed that Pakistani Islamic ETFs bucked the global trend of moderating, even negative, quarterly growth. The Islamic Republic managed to register a 60.68% AuM expansion in Q1 2026.

This general downward trend is replicated in commodities funds in the US; despite higher valuations for fixed income, real estate and money market funds, US Shariah funds still reported a smaller cumulative portfolio value at the end of March 2026.

The loss in growth momentum is unsurprising considering that financial markets have been roiled by the Iran-US war, which has deepened inflation globally and sustained high interest rates.

In Turkiye, one of the largest Islamic fund managers in the Republic – as well as globally – tells us that elevated real interest rates may limit the pace of local equity market appreciation and has suggested that active management of participation funds could be a more effective strategy to navigate current macro environment.

Seeking alpha

Yet, some fund managers are finding opportunities in such uncertainty, launching new funds to capture Shariah wealth. For example, Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Capital is primed to launch two new funds having secured approval last week while the UK’s Standard Life rolled out a Shariah compliant pension product around the same time Malaysia’s KAF Investment Fund introduced its new global Shariah fund.

Some are also diversifying revenue streams: in Iran, two investment managers unveiled new fintech platforms to capture the retail market while Saudi’s Albilad Capital deploys a new fintech solution for market-making.

It is worth highlighting that multibillion-dollar Islamic investment manager Investcorp Capital deepened its US exposure by acquiring a diversified industrial real estate portfolio for US$200 million. On that note of acquisition, Malaysia’s MNRB Holdings will be buying up the entire stake in Labuan Reinsurance for about US$100 million.

Bolstering foundations

Key Islamic financial jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia continue to strengthen their regulatory infrastructure to support capital markets and asset management. Saudi’s Capital Market Authority to ease securities business regulations while Securities Commission Malaysia has overhauled its policies on digital asset exchanges in a bid to attract more institutional investments into the crypto space.