Islamic Investing in Kaduna, Kaduna

The newest entrant among Nigeria's Shariah funds, launched 29 November 2024 by ARM Investment Managers, one of Nigeria's largest independent asset managers. The open-ended fund buys sovereign and corporate sukuk rated at least BBB plus Mudarabah and Murabaha fixed-term contracts, and held ₦1.27bn at the January 2026 factsheet. Retail entry is ₦10,000 with ₦1,000 top-ups; institutions enter from ₦10m. Fees are a 1.5% management charge plus an incentive fee of up to 20% of returns above the composite benchmark (70% 3-year sovereign sukuk, 30% 91-day NITTY). The fund distributes semi-annually. Its first-year annualized return was 16.59% against an 18.94% benchmark at March 2025.

Nigeria's sovereign Islamic bond programme, run by the Debt Management Office since September 2017 through the SPV FGN Roads Sukuk Company 1 Plc. Seven Ijara (lease) sukuk series have raised ₦1.3926trn for federal road projects, with rental rates from 11.20% (2020) to 19.75% (May 2025), paid half-yearly. The 2025 series drew ₦2.21trn of subscriptions for a ₦300bn offer, a 735% oversubscription. Retail investors participate from ₦10,000 during public offers via placement agents and issuing houses, and the certificates trade on the NGX and FMDQ. Proceeds have funded over 4,000km of roads and nine bridges across all six geopolitical zones plus the FCT.

Launched on 4 May 2020 as FBNQuest Asset Management's entry into Islamic investing, the FBN Halal Fund is now managed by First Asset Management after the FBN Holdings group rebranded to First HoldCo in 2025. It is an open-ended Islamic fixed income fund with ₦5.21bn in assets and a NAV of ₦152.87 per share on the current fund page. Minimum investment is ₦5,000 with a 90-day minimum holding period, a 1.50% management fee and a 1.70% total expense ratio. Income accrues daily and distributes annually. Custody sits with Standard Chartered Bank, and the fund is benchmarked to the FGN 3-year bond with a low-to-medium risk profile.

A Lagos-based Islamic alternative investment platform, operating since at least 2021, that lets members fund specific deals rather than pooled funds: short-term business financing campaigns of 3-9 months paying monthly income, dollar-denominated co-investments in rental real estate in Dubai and the USA, and venture equity in ESG-focused startups. Halvest runs a members-only cooperative model under a cooperative and money lender's licence with an SCUML registration, with entities in Nigeria, Delaware and Ontario. Its own calculator illustrates ₦1,000,000 growing to about ₦1,340,000 in a year, roughly 34% net, based on average business-financing performance since 2021. It is not an SEC-registered capital market operator.

The only Shariah-compliant ETF on the Nigerian Exchange. Launched August 2014 and listed that November, LOTUSHAL15 passively tracks the NGX Lotus Islamic Index, a 12-stock, AAOIFI-screened basket of large-cap NGX names such as MTN Nigeria, Dangote Cement and BUA Cement. Fund size was ₦2.962bn on the 13 March 2026 factsheet, NAV ₦88.69 per unit against a ₦128 NGX closing price. Management fee is 0.60%, the cheapest halal fund in Nigeria. The fund returned 50.57% in 2024, matching its index, and distributed ₦0.81 per unit in December 2025. It also publishes a purification figure: ₦0.10 per unit for FY2025.

Lotus Capital's flagship by assets: an open-ended Shariah-compliant fixed income fund holding ₦45.5bn at Q1 2026, launched in May 2016. It buys FGN and sub-sovereign sukuk, corporate sukuk, Ijarah and Murabaha contracts and places short-term funds with non-interest banks, and explicitly holds no treasury bills or interest deposits. NAV per unit was ₦1,308.22 with quarterly distributions, 35 paid since inception, the latest ₦42.10 per unit in December 2025. Minimum investment is just 5 units, minimum holding period 30 days, management fee 1.5% of NAV. Benchmark is a composite of the 3-year FGN bond and 90-day NITTY.

Nigeria's oldest halal mutual fund, launched in August 2008 by Lotus Capital, the SEC-registered pioneer of non-interest finance in Nigeria. The fund is an open-ended balanced vehicle mixing Shariah-screened NGX equities, sukuk and asset backed investments such as Ijarah leases and Murabaha trade contracts. Fund size was ₦8.58bn at 31 December 2025 with a NAV of ₦2.98 per unit. Entry is genuinely retail: ₦5,000 minimum initial and additional investment. Instead of a flat management fee it uses a 70:30 investor:manager profit share. Nairametrics reported a 35.85% return for H1 2026, second best among SEC-registered Shariah equity-type funds.

Nigeria's largest Shariah-compliant equity fund. Launched in October 2013 by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management (SIAML), a Stanbic IBTC Holdings subsidiary within the Standard Bank group, the Imaan Fund invests at least 70% of its portfolio in Shariah-compliant NGX equities with the balance in sukuk and similar instruments. It was the best performing Shariah fund in Nigeria in H1 2026, returning 54.65% as NAV climbed to ₦31.9bn across 10,140 unitholders. Minimum investment is ₦5,000, the management fee 1.5% per annum, there is no minimum holding period and no penal exit charge. Risk is classed aggressive.

An open-ended Islamic fixed income fund from Stanbic IBTC Asset Management, launched in August 2019 (SISFIF). The mandate is simple: at least 70% of the portfolio in sukuk, the rest in short-term Shariah-compliant fixed term instruments, with no conventional bonds or treasury bills. Minimum investment is ₦5,000 with no minimum holding period. The manager's platform quoted a unit price of ₦153.26 in 2026 with a year-to-date price change of 6.08%, a 1-year change of 12.62% and a 5-year change of 34.91%. Fund size was about ₦2.36bn in July 2026, serving roughly 3,390 unitholders. Management fee is 1.5% per annum.

United Capital Asset Management's dedicated sukuk fund, running since 2020 with ₦4.1bn under management at the March 2026 factsheet and a NAV of ₦1.2550 per unit. The portfolio blends FGN and sub-sovereign sukuk, corporate sukuk and placements with non-interest banks under Mudarabah and Murabaha contracts, inside governance ranges of 60-80% sukuk and 20-40% non-interest deposits. Entry takes ₦10,000 with ₦5,000 top-ups, a 90-day minimum holding period, a 1.5% management fee and a 1.8% total expense ratio. The benchmark is the 3-year FGN sovereign sukuk yield, and subscription is fully online through investnow.ng.

Wahed

Wahed Invest Nigeria

The Nigerian arm of the global halal robo-adviser. Wahed Ltd is registered with Nigeria's SEC as a fund/portfolio manager and appears on the SEC's fintech list as a licensed robo-adviser, making it one of the few app-based platforms with explicit local registration for Shariah-compliant investing. Users pick a risk level from very aggressive to conservative and Wahed allocates local naira model portfolios across sukuk, Ijarah and Murabaha-based income instruments and screened equities. The all-in fee for Nigeria is 1.50% per annum inclusive of VAT, charged monthly, with no charge on zero-balance accounts. Purification amounts are calculated and reported annually so clients can cleanse impermissible income.