Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF

Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL) tracks the FTSE Shariah USA Index. That index weights large and mid-size U.S. companies by market value after screening them against Islamic principles, and the fund held 211 stocks as of August 31, 2026. The screens remove conventional banks and insurers and heavily indebted firms, so the fund leans hard toward technology. Its 0.50% expense ratio is higher than the 0.45% charged by SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF (SPUS).

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, HLAL returned +19.4%, 1st of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +13.8%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.6% and regained its old high 4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-17.6%); its best was 2023 (+30.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 33.6% (Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jul 22, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 211 securities; the ten largest made up 58.35% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $32.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -2.15%, -2.23%, +3.90%.

HLAL aims to track the FTSE Shariah USA Index, which is run by FTSE International Limited. The index starts from the FTSE USA Index. It then drops any company that earns more than 5% of its revenue from activities Shariah prohibits, such as conventional banking and insurance, alcohol, pork, gambling, tobacco and weapons. Companies must also pass financial tests. Debt must be under one-third of total assets, cash and interest-bearing items under one-third, and receivables plus cash under half. The companies that pass are weighted by market capitalization (total stock market value), so the biggest firms count the most. The index is reconstituted quarterly, and its members are reviewed on an ongoing basis and once a year.

The adviser, Wahed Invest LLC, generally uses replication: it buys every stock in the index in roughly the same proportions. It must keep at least 80% of net assets in index stocks. Any uninvested cash sits in accounts that pay no interest. Portfolio turnover was 19%. The fund is non-diversified, meaning it can hold large stakes in a few companies, and it was concentrated in semiconductor stocks as of June 22, 2026.

A Shariah consultant, Yasaar Limited, checks whether any holdings earned small amounts of prohibited income, such as interest. Each quarter, the fund posts on its website a per-share amount that shareholders can donate. This step is called "purification."

• HLAL charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.15% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

For investors who want only Shariah-compliant stocks, it can serve as the main U.S. stock holding, though its heavy technology tilt makes it less diversified than a broad market fund.

HLAL launched in July 2019, so it has no record from the 2008 financial crisis. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.6% between February 19 and March 23, 2020, then got back to its old high by July 22, 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 23.2% and did not recover until July 13, 2023, about nine months after the October low. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -17.58%. Anyone who had to sell shares for living costs during a drop like that would lock in losses. That is one reason some retirees hold cash or bonds elsewhere. Income is small: the trailing 12-month yield was 0.38% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, the 0.50% expense ratio adds up to $628 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.