Canadian Islamic Wealth, which launched in 2019, manages about $10 million of investments from 200 Canadian families.
In 2019, 3.7% of Canadians reported they were Muslim, according to Statistics Canada. Mohamad Sawwaf, founder and CEO of Toronto-based fintech and Halal financial service provider Manzil, said Canada’s Muslims probably have more than $20 billion in assets to potentially invest.
Rising interest rates have made income-oriented investments more popular, with money flowing into high-interest savings account products and GICs. But Reitberger said there are few Islamic finance choices for income-oriented Canadian retail investors.
One option is Sukuks, which are complex, bond-like instruments that fund land development and generate rental income, Reitberger said. They may also invest in manufacturing or infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
Other options include the Manzil Mortgage Fund and the SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF (NYSE Arca: SPSK), Reitberger added.
Sukuk funds are usually based outside of Canada and often require an up-front investment of more than $100,000, Sawwaf said. There are publicly traded options available (from Florida-based SP Funds for example), but many Canadian clients don’t like foreign currency volatility, he said.
Through CI Direct Investing, retail clients can invest in Manzil Halal Portfolios. The portfolio allocates some money to the Manzil Mortgage Fund, an operating-memorandum fund launched as a private placement that earns income from Manzil-provided residential mortgages. The remainder is allocated to the passive U.S. equity-based Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (Nasdaq: HLAL). The higher the client’s risk tolerance, the higher the percentage allocated to HLAL, which excludes certain industries such as alcohol, pork production and casinos.
The Manzil Mortgage Fund is a “fixed-income equivalent style fund,” Sawwaf said. Investors must give two months’ notice if they want to withdraw funds from the mortgage component of Manzil Halal Portfolios, according to CI Financial. It could take up to six months to receive withdrawals, and clients wanting to withdraw more than $20,000 might have to wait a year.
More than 12,000 families are on the wait list to finance their home through Manzil, Sawwaf said. The firm does not charge interest but gives home buyers a choice of a partnership agreement (Manzil shares ownership of the property and sells its share to the client) or an arrangement in which Manzil buys the home and re-sells it to the client at a profit, payable in instalments.
The Manzil Mortgage Fund provides funding to and earns income from those residential mortgages. Manzil self-finances the mortgages from capital raised through the Manzil Mortgage Fund. “You’re investing in sharia-compliant mortgages, so every time someone makes a payment on their mortgage, that is going back to the investors,” Reitberger said.
Sawwaf said Manzil is developing other solutions for income-oriented investors. The firm is working on an equity-based income fund (which he said could launch by November) focused on dividend-paying value stocks. It’s also looking at creating a Halal real estate investment trust and a commercial mortgage fund.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
