Sinbad Capital’s plan to redefine ethical wealth

US-based Sinbad Capital believes the global Islamic market has the potential to be five times bigger. But getting to that scale might be easier with less use of the ubiquitous labels of “Halal” and “Shariah compliance”, said founding CEO Kamal Solaiman. 

“The global market for Islamic finance is US$7 trillion or something like that, depending on whom you believe. If we rebrand to social responsibility or impact investing or something along those lines and take out the term Islamic finance, it could be US$35 trillion.”  

The difference of being aligned versus compliant  

An advocate of pragmatism over idealism, Kamal believes branding shouldn’t be for the sake of branding, especially when it risks alienating non-Muslim investors who might not be making the leap of faith due to their lack of understanding or appreciation for labels versus their focus on investing and returns. 

“I actually don’t like using the words Shariah compliant,” Kamal shared, adding that the term to him represented meeting of “a minimum threshold”, when Islamic-focused investing had grander aspirations.  

“In an academic perspective, that means I'm a ‘C-grade’ student passing a course; the ‘C’ being ‘compliant’. Why would I want that? I want to focus on excellence and be an ‘A-grade’ student instead. So, I would want to be Shariah ‘aligned’ instead of being Shariah compliant.” 

Steering his firm towards social responsibility and impact investing, for Kamal, isn't just one of marketing – it's one of integrity. He draws a sharp philosophical line between firms that merely adhere to the letter of the Islamic law and those that truly practise the spirit of it.  

Using the same non-label has helped Sinbad Capital attract top talent and partners. 

The firm’s fractional CFO, for instance, is a white Christian, Kamal said. “Respectfully, I've met plenty of Muslims who don't really adhere to Muslim principles. And I've met non-Muslims who do.” 

People-focused, with zero gearing 

Sinbad Capital’s stance of secularism within Islamic investing can be attributed to his father, said Kamal. The Solaiman patriarch once ran a family office where he employed a homeless person.  

“He wanted to help her with a more enduring benefit than just taking her off the streets or giving her money for a meal”. That philosophy – where business should be about making a positive impact on people rather than just generating profit – is the cornerstone of Sinbad Capital's entire structure. 

Firstly, the company has zero debt and will not take on any borrowings – meaning every deal it does will be leverage-free. Such a model, says Kamal, has a natural “built-in resilience”.  

“I may not make as much as other people, but I make a solid return, and it's very consistent, and I have virtually no downside”. 

Sinbad Capital is built on three pillars: real estate, companies (small business/PE) and commerce (trade finance). The design, Kamal explains, is to accommodate multi-generational investors – like sophisticated family offices – that need different types of liquidity and risk profiles across their investment timeline. 

For the real estate pillar, the goal is consistent, stable income. The firm targets a 10% internal rate of return (IRR), which, Kamal stressed, is achieved through rigorous diligence. “We actually work backwards,” he noted. “We find what our IRR is going to be, and then we work backwards to find out what properties fit that buy box.” 

In terms of companies, the focus is on growth equity through pure profit-and-loss sharing partnerships that prioritize high alignment and long-term potential. This pure equity approach, without debt covenants, ensures that entrepreneurs make decisions focused on the “growth and best interest of the business,” rather than being pressured by debt deadlines. 

The third pillar, commerce, or trade finance, is the portfolio’s anchor for resilience and risk mitigation. This pathway, characterized as low/medium risk and high liquidity (one to two years), offers a crucial diversification factor.  

“For the commerce pathway, its returns do not correlate to market factors that affect real estate and small businesses,” Kamal emphasized. “It held up during the COVID-19 pandemic downturn. It held up during the 2008 sub-prime crisis.”  

By mixing these elements – real estate for income, companies for growth and commerce for diversification – Sinbad Capital models a US$100 million portfolio yielding a 20% IRR over 10 years, with risk substantially mitigated. 

Biggest challenge: Changing US mindsets 

However, the firm’s biggest challenge isn't investment strategy; it's cultural education within the US financial landscape. Most institutional investors, Kamal lamented, are preoccupied with short-term metrics and the drive for maximum leverage-fueled returns.  

“The biggest challenge is simply that most people don't care. They don’t care about impact, they don’t care about purpose, they don’t care about non-leverage. They only care about maximizing financial returns.” 

Because of this institutional misalignment, Sinbad Capital finds itself operating in a very specific “small universe” of sophisticated investors. Kamal advises prospective institutional partners to look past external statements to assess genuine adherence by examining a firm’s "advisory board, investment committee and operating model." 

Ultimately, for Sinbad Capital, shedding the religious label is not about abandoning principles; it’s about making the firm universal and proving its superior resilience in the competitive world of finance. By prioritizing "capital with a compass," Kamal believes he can prove that the most principled finance is also the smartest, most durable finance, creating a platform for a US$35 trillion market built on ethics, integrity and long-term value.