Opportunities and Threats of Shariah-Compliant Robo Advisory. The Case of Wahed Invest

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Business economics - Investment and Finance, , course: Masters of Islamic Finance Practice (MIFP), language: English, abstract: This paper seeks to highlight the opportunities of Shariah-compliant Robo-Advisary (R.A.) in the field of FinTech and how it could potentially revolutionize the Islamic Finance industry through its positive integration as opposed to its feared future domination, using Wahed Invest (New York) as a case. Robo-Advisory is often seen as having the ability to overtake traditional human financial advisors. However, what initially may be understood as a threat is in fact a great opportunity within the Islamic FinTech industry. Shariah-compliant R.A. has the potential to offer immense opportunity to many markets including traditional financial advisories, high-net worth (HNW) clients, and Islamic banks globally as well as those individuals/banks keen to carry out ethical investment alternatives. FinTech, within the boundaries of Shariah law, can be especially applicable for young Muslim millennials residing in the West. Todorof 201(2018)) notices that this particular market has difficulties gaining access to Shariah-compliant financial services. Therefore, one of the leading FinTech areas, and the most appropriate to their needs, is that of Robot Advice. The aim of this research is then to examine the extent of opportunities available as opposed to the seeming threats of current Shariah-compliant R.A. services using the example of Wahed Invest (New York). This current research will therefore bring forth a positive contribution towards many sectors within the Islamic Finance industry.