Making the un-investable investable: Baillie Gifford expands Islamic equity universe with proactive strategy

Baillie Gifford's newly launched Islamic Global Equities Fund is investing in a number of companies that were once considered outside the reach of Shariah compliant investors, using a strategy carefully crafted based over a decade of engagement with scholars and screening providers.  

"We have been able to bring in a large number of what otherwise were un-investable companies and made them available to invest, not just for our clients, but for the broader Islamic community," Tolibjon Tursunov, the head of the Islamic global equities strategy at Baillie Gifford, tells IFN Investor.  

The fund, launched to the public on the 18^th June 2026 with an AuM of approximately US$2.7 million, holds a concentrated portfolio of around 50 growth companies, including Alphabet, Shopify, Apple, Denali Therapeutics, Samsung Electronics, Roche, TSMC, Murata Manufacturing, and Planet Labs. 

According to Baillie Gifford, its work with scholars and industry participants, which began in 2015, has helped reassess how certain companies and sectors are evaluated under Islamic investment principles. Primarily by re-evaluating companies that failed traditional screens for technical reasons despite operating businesses that the firm believes align with Islamic principles.  

Biotechnology companies provide one example. Many were previously excluded because cash raised to fund research and development generated interest income while sitting on balance sheets. 

Tolibjon argued that most of these companies were not pursuing interest-based business models but were instead developing innovative medicines addressing significant unmet healthcare needs.  

The firm estimates that more than 100 biotechnology companies became investable following discussions with scholars and screening providers.  

Another example is Shopify. The Canadian e-commerce platform was previously excluded on technical grounds related to how its financing activities were assessed. After presenting its analysis to scholars, Tolibjon said the company was subsequently deemed investable.  

"Surely Islam is not just about negatively screening. Islam is much deeper than that," Tolibjon opines.  

Tolibjon emphasized however that not every engagement results in stocks becoming Shariah compliant. For example, Spotify remains not investible despite the firm's efforts to argue that the company's growing educational and podcast content should be considered alongside its music business.  

"We bring investing knowledge to the discussion and our scholars bring the religious knowledge, and through this interaction we encourage and help to evolve standards and rules that govern the industry," Tolibjon says. 

To the question of why it took a long time from incubation to market launch of the fund, Tolibjon answers that “…this project, for me, is as much personal as it is professional. We weren't going to add to the disappointment by introducing yet another product that reduces Islamic principles to nothing but negative screens. We took the time to do it well. A product that is of an institutional level quality, both in investment return terms and the servicing it offers to clients.”