Wahed (company)

Wahed is an American financial technology and services company based in New York City, New York.[4][5] In July 2019, the company launched the first exchange-traded fund in the United States that was compliant with Sharia law.[6][7][8] Wahed operates in 130 countries and has offices in Washington D.C, New York, London and Dubai. According to Bloomberg, it has a valuation of $300 million.[9]

Wahed
IndustryFinance
Founded2017
HeadquartersNew York[1]
Areas served
Worldwide[2][3]
Key people
Junaid Wahedna
Lori A. Richards
Haroon Mokhtarzada
Ali Rahimtula
Jon Xu
William Haney
ProductsAsset management
Mobile app
Website
Number of employees
100+
Websitehttps://wahed.com/

History

The idea for Wahed Invest came about in 2015, after founder Junaid Wahedna was shocked to find his New York taxi driver was seeking financial advice from an imam as opposed to a qualified financial advisor.[10] This conversation inspired Wahedna to launch Wahed Invest.

In 2017, Wahed Invest launched the world's first automated Islamic investment platform.[11]

In November 2017, Wahed raised seed capital from investors including former JPMorgan Chase managing director John Elkhair and director of McKinsey & Company, Laurent Nordin.[12][13]

In August 2018, Wahed made its first international expansion by launching its operations in the UK.[14] In October 2018, Wahed raised a $7 million round with Cue Ball Capital and BECO Capital.[15][16] In November 2018, the company launched a Halal Stock Screener mobile app to compare 50,000 Sharia-compliant stocks.[17]

In July 2019, the company launched the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL), which tracks a benchmark derived from the broad FTSE USA Index.[18]

In July 2020, Wahed raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures with participation from existing investors BECO and Cue Ball Capital, as well as Dubai Cultiv8 and Rasameel.[19][20] In December 2020 Wahed acquired Niyah Ltd, a British company that runs a digital banking app designed for the Muslim community for an undisclosed amount. [21]

In 2021, Khabib Nurmagomedov joined as an investor and brand ambassador, and, in 2022, Paul Pogba also joined these roles.[22] On 10 February 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Wahed Invest, LLC with making misleading statements and for compliance failures related to its Shari’ah advisory business.[23] Wahed Invest consented to the entry of the SEC’s order and agreed, via a cease-and-desist order, to pay a $300,000 penalty as well as retain an independent compliance consultant among other undertakings.[23] In June 2022, Wahed completed a $50 million Series B funding round, putting the company's valuation at $300 million.[9]

Company

Wahed is aimed at investors looking for ethical investments aligned with Islamic principles.[24] Wahed is regulated in the following jurisdictions: SEC (USA), FCA (UK), SEBI (India), OJK (Indonesia), AFSA (Kazakhstan), SC (Malaysia), FSC (Mauritius) and FSCA (South Africa).[16][13][25] An ethical review board monitors the company's investments to make sure they agree with Islamic values. The investment company cannot involve liquor, firearms, gambling or tobacco industries, nor can they generate excess profit from charging interest.[4][26] The robo-advisor invests in Sukuks (Islamic bonds), U.S. stocks, emerging stock markets, real estate and gold.[27]

References
  1. Khairani Afifi Noordin; Maxine Yong (26 December 2016). "When investing meets technology". The Edge Malaysia.
  2. "Halal robo-advisor Wahed debuts in Malaysia". The Malaysian Reserve. 30 October 2019.
  3. "Sharia investment start-up aims for Malaysia, India expansion". Gulf News. 23 February 2019.
  4. Dean Takahashi (1 November 2017). "Wahed raises $7 million for Halal-based investment platform". Venture Beat.
  5. Corentin Durand (7 June 2017). "Fintech: un entrepreneur musulman cree un algorithme pour trouver des investissements halal" (in French). Numerama.
  6. "Religion Meets Profit Generation in a Slew of New Faith-Based ETFs". Bloomberg Businessweek. 23 June 2020.
  7. "Wahed Invest launches Shariah-compliant US equity ETF". ETF Strategy. 16 July 2020.
  8. "Shariah-Based ETF Arrives In U.S." Financial Advisor. 17 July 2020.
  9. Gani, Aisha (15 June 2022). "Startup Wahed Backed by Aramco and Paul Pogba Now Valued at $300 Million". Bloomberg.
  10. Janiaud, Alex (2019-09-24). "Islamic fintech pioneers test creative ways to engage consumers". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  11. "Wahed Invest Launches in Malaysia". Business Insider. 30 October 2019.
  12. Bernardo Vizcaino (6 June 2017). "Robo-adviser Wahed targets Muslim investors in U.S. and beyond". Reuters.
  13. JD Alois (6 June 2017). "New Robo-Advisor Provides Access to Shariah Compliant Investments". Crowdfund Insider.
  14. "Wahed Invest launches automated Islamic advisory service in Britain". Reuters. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  15. "Halal online investment platform Wahed raises £6 million". Finextra Research. 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  16. Sarah Townsend (1 November 2017). "Exclusive: First Islamic robo-adviser to launch in Mena". The National.
  17. "Wahed Invest launches first Halal Stock Screener app". Institutional Asset Manager. 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  18. "New ETF Targets Shariah Law". ETF. 16 July 2019.
  19. "Halal fintech startup Wahed closes $25M led by Saudi Aramco's investment arm". TechCrunch. 8 June 2020.
  20. "Dubai Cultiv8 invests in New York Shariah-compliant advisor". Arabian Business. 2 October 2019.
  21. Irrera, Anna (2020-12-17). "Islamic fintech Wahed Invest to buy UK digital banking app Niyah". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  22. "International football icon Paul Pogba becomes Brand Ambassador for Islamic fintech company". British Muslim Magazine. June 2022.
  23. "SEC.gov | SEC Charges Robo-Adviser with Misleading Clients". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2022-11-06. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. Carla Sertin; Kartik Gandhi (15 August 2017). "Wahed Invest: A Sharia'h Compliant Robo-advisory". Forbes.
  25. "First robo adviser enters the Islamic finance stage". Gulf Times. 25 October 2016.
  26. Barbara A. Friedberg (25 November 2016). "Wahed Invest: A Look at the New Islamic Robo-Advisor". Investopedia.
  27. Emma Hinchliffe (14 June 2017). "Wahed Invest promises to be the first Sharia-friendly roboadvisor for Muslim millennials". Mashable.
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