Wahed (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology, Asset management |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | 130 countries |
Key people | Mohsin Siddiqui (CEO) |
| Products | Sharia-compliant investments, Robo-advisor platform, Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL) |
Wahed is a New York City-based American company specializing in financial technology and services. Established in 2017, Wahed focuses on asset management via its mobile platform and website, catering to international clients with an emphasis on investments adhering to Sharia principles. In July 2019, the company introduced the first exchange-traded fund in the United States that complies with Sharia law. Wahed operates across 130 countries and has established offices in New York, Washington D.C., London, and Dubai. By 2022, the firm’s valuation reached $300 million, supported by investors such as Aramco and Paul Pogba.
History
Wahed Invest debuted the globe's inaugural automated Islamic investment platform in 2017.
Later that year, in November 2017, the company secured seed funding from notable investors including John Elkhair, a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase, and Laurent Nordin, a director at McKinsey & Company.
International expansion commenced in August 2018 with the launch of operations in the United Kingdom. Two months later, in October 2018, Wahed obtained $7 million in financing from Cue Ball Capital and BECO Capital. By November 2018, the firm released a Halal Stock Screener app enabling users to evaluate 50,000 Sharia-compliant equities.
In July 2019, Wahed unveiled the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL), which follows an index derived from the FTSE USA Index.
The company raised $25 million during a Series A funding round in July 2020, led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures and including contributions from BECO, Cue Ball Capital, Dubai Cultiv8, and Rasameel. Subsequently, in December 2020, Wahed acquired Niyah Ltd, a UK-based digital banking application serving Muslim customers.
In 2021, Khabib Nurmagomedov became both an investor and brand ambassador for Wahed; Paul Pogba joined these roles in 2022. On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Wahed Invest with making misleading statements and failing to comply with regulations related to its Shari’ah advisory services. Later that year, in June 2022, Wahed completed a $50 million Series B financing round that valued the company at $300 million.
In March 2024, founder Junaid Wahedna resigned as CEO and was replaced by Mohsin Siddiqui, previously Chief Revenue Officer at ComplyAdvantage.
Company
Wahed focuses on investors interested in ethical portfolios aligned with Islamic finance principles. The company holds regulatory approvals from authorities including the SEC (United States), FCA (United Kingdom), SEBI (India), OJK (Indonesia), AFSA (Kazakhstan), SC (Malaysia), FSC (Mauritius), and FSCA (South Africa). An ethical review committee guarantees that investments conform to Islamic values by excluding sectors such as alcohol, firearms, gambling, tobacco, and interest-based earnings. The robo-advisor platform allocates funds into Sukuks (Islamic bonds), U.S. equities, emerging market assets, real estate holdings, and gold.