Shariah-compliant investing simply refers to investments which are deemed permissible in Islamic law. 

For an investment to be considered Shariah-compliant, they typically must meet two screening criteria:

1. From a business sector perspective, industries which are deemed to be harmful to society are prohibited for investment. This includes industries such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, arms and adult entertainment. 

2. Shariah compliance also considers financial screens and prohibits investments into companies which are highly geared and carrying significant amounts of interest-based debt and income. 

These investments are underpinned by a robust Shariah governance framework which is headed by a Shariah Supervisory Board. The board is made up of Islamic finance scholars who review and approve matters to ensure they comply with Shariah principles.

An investment strategy sets out what mixture of investments you will hold and how that mixture will change over time. 

Your money will be invested into the default investment strategy, which is a blend of three carefully selected funds managed by Wahed, chosen based on your retirement age. We will automatically move your investments as you get closer to retirement into asset classes that are more aligned with how you might choose to use your pension savings when you reach your retirement age. The investments are Shariah-compliant. 

Lifestyling allows higher risk investments to be used during the growth phase of your pension, when you’re accumulating funds and have more time (generally 10+ years) before you’re due to retire, when it’s appropriate for more risk to be taken. As you get closer to retirement, derisking starts to take place and a more balanced and cautious strategy is followed. This happens automatically on an annual basis until you’re within a few years of your retirement age, when your pension is held in funds that are cautious and less volatile. 

The investment strategy has two phases – the growth phase and the pre-retirement phase.

Really easily in your account. If you would like to make changes to your investment options, you must sign in to your Smart Pension account, select ‘Investments’ and then ‘Change your investments’ to read more on our Wahed funds. For more information, read our investment guide.

The easiest way is to speak to your HR team who can enrol you back into the Smart Pension. Then sign in to your Smart Pension account, select ‘Investments’ and then ‘Change your investments’ to read more on our Wahed funds. For more information, read our investment guide.