NASDAQ-listed gold ETFs are charting an attractive track record as Shariah investment opportunities, with double digit returns in recent years, Alpha Binwani Capital Founding CEO Ashwin Binwani shared with IFN Investor.
As these ETFs don’t have Fatwas – which is usually the case with most US-listed securities – this Singapore-based personalized investment firm launched its private closed-ended Amanah Gold Fund in July 2025 with Shariah certification for its constituent holdings.
“Minimum investment into this gold fund is US$20,000 for those who would prefer us to handle their investments, rather than trading directly on NASDAQ. We have clients from various countries in Asia and the Middle East, each vetted before being allowed to invest.”
Ashwin said there are many advantages to investing in the US instruments – with high liquidity being among the main priorities. “The five ETFs that our gold fund holds have a daily trading volume of over 10 million contracts, which makes it easy for quick purchases and exits.”
With physical gold backing, the largest ETF is the iShares Gold Trust, an actively-managed holding with a mix of physical gold, futures and other derivatives – followed by the SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust. The others are the abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF, iShares Gold Trust Micro and the Sprott Active Gold & Silver Miners ETF.
Table 1: Largest Islamic commodity ETF funds by AuM
| Rank | Fund name | Fund manager | AuM (US$ million) |
| 1 | SPDR Gold Shares ETF | State Street Global Advisors | 101,202.1 |
| 2 | SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust | State Street Global Advisors | 16,746.13 |
| 3 | Ziraat Portfolio Gold Participation Exchange Investment Fund | Ziraat Portfoy | 1,126.04 |
| 4 | Silver Participation Exchange Traded Fund | QNB Finans Portfoy | 382.02 |
| 5 | TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker ETF | AHAM Capital Asset Management | 56.8 |
| 6 | Azimut Portfolio Precious Metals Participation Fund | Azimut Portfoy | 25.31 |
| 7 | Albilad Gold ETF | Albilad Capital | 22.68 |
Silver is another precious metal ETF the Shariah fund is investing in due to the high usage of this metal in rapidly-growing industries that include data centers worldwide. “With gold and silver, the fund covers demand from the retail, institutional and industrial sectors.”
Ashwin said gold demand from institutions has also risen dramatically in recent times, with data from the World Gold Council showing total flows of around 400 tons valued at US$38 billion in 2024. “Indications are that institutions, including central banks, now allocate 5-10% of their portfolios to gold for diversification and risk protection that is higher than the historical trend of 1-2%.”
Economic uncertainties around the world since the advent of the Trump administration, with sweeping tariffs threatened and then implemented, were also factors that led to a surge in global gold prices – soaring 34% year-on-year past US$3,000 per ounce in 2025 and reaching US$3,370 by August 2025. “As a trusted wealth protection asset and a hedge against inflation or other economic factors, investing in gold is going to be an important part of any prudent investor’s portfolio in the near future.”
Table 2: Top performing Islamic commodity ETF funds by 3-month returns
| Rank | Fund name | Fund manager | 3-month returns (%) |
| 1 | Silver Participation Exchange Traded Fund | QNB Finans Portfoy | 24.28 |
| 2 | Azimut Portfolio Precious Metals Participation Fund | Azimut Portfoy | 8.32 |
| 3 | Albilad Gold ETF | Albilad Capital | 7.38 |
| 4 | SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust | State Street Global Advisors | 5.51 |
| 5 | TradePlus Shariah Gold Tracker ETF | AHAM Capital Asset Management | 4.7 |
| 6 | SPDR Gold Shares ETF | State Street Global Advisors | -0.2 |
