Islamic robo-advisor Wahed Invest has enlisted Sharia Review Bureau (SRB) to manage its sharia compliance covering client agreements, advisory terms and its portfolio of Islamic investment vehicles.
The move comes after the company announced plans for a global expansion and to move away from its historical focus on the US market and concentrate on the Middle East and Asian market.
Aside from its New York headquarters, Wahed Invest currently has offices in the UK, India, Dubai, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.
“We expect the majority of growth to come from the Middle East and Asia – which, in 2019, cumulatively accounted for a significant value of our total growth,” said Owais Gore, head of Global Operations at Wahed.
Islamic finance providers are also facing greater regulatory scrutiny over their sharia compliance while investors have become more demanding in terms of their sharia audit reporting.
“Our appointment by Wahed is intended to become a meaningful resource for Sharia supervision on their global equity exposure over time, with the goal of driving Sharia audit performance and reducing Sharia compliance management costs,” said Yasser S Dahlawi, SRB chief executive.
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