There is no halal ETF domiciled in New Zealand and none listed on the NZX that describes itself as Shariah-compliant. The halal ETFs a Kiwi Muslim can realistically own are US-listed: the Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL) on the Nasdaq, the SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF (SPUS) on NYSE Arca, and the SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF (SPSK) on the NYSE. Hatch offers NYSE and Nasdaq-listed ETFs through its US broker-dealer, and Sharesies offers ETFs listed on the Nasdaq, NYSE and Cboe, with a request process for anything missing. This guide covers what each fund holds, what it costs, and the tax rules that catch New Zealand buyers, alongside our halal investing hub.
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Why New Zealand has no halal ETF of its own
ETF issuers build products where there is a visible customer base and an index licence that pays for itself. New Zealand's Muslim population is small, the NZX is thin, and the one domestic halal fund manager, Always-Ethical, runs an unlisted managed fund rather than an exchange-traded one. InvestNow, the platform most Kiwis use for managed funds, lists more than 150 funds from over 30 managers, and the closest it gets are ethical and responsible funds from Pathfinder, Mercer and its own Foundation Series, which screen for ESG themes and not for riba. Why NZ's ethical funds are not halal explains the difference in screens.
That leaves the US market, which has the deepest set of Shariah-screened ETFs anywhere, and two New Zealand platforms that give fractional access to it. Neither Hatch nor Sharesies screens anything for Shariah compliance; they are brokers. The compliance work falls on you and on the fund's own index methodology, and the tax work falls on you too, which is the part most first-time buyers discover a year later.
The three funds, side by side
| Fund | Ticker and exchange | What it tracks | Annual fee | Screening body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF | HLAL, Nasdaq | FTSE Shariah USA Index, US large and mid caps | 0.50% total annual operating expenses | Yasaar Limited for FTSE |
| SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF | SPUS, NYSE Arca | S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index, about 200 S&P 500 stocks | 0.45% expense ratio | AAOIFI-based S&P methodology |
| SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF | SPSK, NYSE | Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return Index, USD investment-grade sukuk | 0.50% expense ratio | Sukuk structured under Islamic finance principles |
HLAL's summary prospectus sets out the FTSE screen in numbers: companies earning more than 5% of revenue from prohibited activities are excluded, and the survivors must have debt below 33.333% of total assets, cash and interest-bearing items below 33.333% of total assets, and total interest and non-compliant income not exceeding 5% of revenue. The index is reconstituted quarterly and the fund publishes a per-share purification figure each quarter. Its management fee is 0.50% with no other expenses listed, so 0.50% is the total.
SPUS follows an S&P Dow Jones Indices methodology that SP Funds describes as adhering to AAOIFI guidelines, holding roughly 200 of the S&P 500's constituents with debt to market capitalisation below 30%. Its expense ratio is 0.45% and the fund launched on 17 December 2019. SPSK, launched ten days later on 27 December 2019, holds US dollar investment-grade sukuk, with Saudi Arabian sovereign sukuk among the positions on its October 2026 holdings list. Its expense ratio is 0.50% and SP Funds reported a 30-day SEC yield of 5.04% at 30 September 2026, against 0.39% for SPUS, which tells you what each fund is for.
Is HLAL, SPUS or SPSK actually on Hatch and Sharesies?
We could not confirm individual tickers from either platform's public website, because both list instruments inside the app rather than on open pages. What the public pages do say is specific enough to act on. Hatch's help centre, updated June 2026, states that it offers full and fractional shares in companies and ETFs listed on the NYSE and the Nasdaq, with its broker-dealer DriveWealth applying liquidity criteria, and that geared funds are not offered by default. All three halal ETFs trade on the NYSE or Nasdaq, so they fall inside Hatch's stated universe.
Sharesies states that it offers more than 5,000 companies and ETFs listed on the Nasdaq, NYSE and Cboe, and that any Nasdaq, NYSE or Cboe-listed ETF not currently offered can be requested, with each request assessed case by case and no fixed timeframe. A Sharesies investor profile published on its own site in October 2023 also says a number of halal ETFs are available on the platform. The practical step is to search the ticker in the app before funding your account, and if a fund is missing on Sharesies, submit the request. Our earlier piece on how NZ Muslims use Sharesies, Hatch and Tiger covers account setup and currency exchange.
What it costs to buy them from New Zealand
Both platforms publish fee pages. Hatch's pricing page, last updated 18 March 2026, charges a flat US$3 per order for trades of fewer than 300 shares, with an extra one cent per share above that, and says its fees include the currency exchange from NZD to USD. Hatch Auto-invest has scaling brokerage for orders up to US$300 capped at 1% of order value. Sharesies' US shares page, updated 26 August 2026, states a maximum transaction fee of US$5 per US order, with a separate currency exchange step when you move money from NZD to USD.
On a NZ$500 monthly purchase, the brokerage on either platform is a small fraction of a percent, and the fund fees of 0.45% to 0.50% a year are the larger recurring cost. The cost that is not on either fee page is tax. Each of these ETFs is a foreign investment fund for New Zealand tax purposes, and once the total cost of your foreign holdings passes the Inland Revenue threshold you are taxed on a deemed return rather than on dividends. Our guide to FIF tax and PIE rules for halal investors works through the mechanics.
Which fund does what in a halal portfolio
- SPUS is the core US equity holding for most buyers: around 200 large US companies, the lowest fee of the three, and a yield so low that purification is small.
- HLAL covers a wider US universe including mid caps under the FTSE screen, with a published quarterly purification figure that makes the religious housekeeping simple.
- SPSK is the only way a retail investor in New Zealand can hold diversified sukuk; it behaves like a defensive fixed-income allocation without interest-bearing bonds.
- Holding both SPUS and HLAL gives two index providers' screens on overlapping companies, which some investors prefer as a cross-check rather than for diversification.
- None of the three gives exposure to New Zealand or Australian companies, so a home-market tilt still needs individual share screening.
For the NZX and ASX, there is no ETF shortcut. You screen individual companies using Musaffa, which has partial NZX coverage, or Zoya for US names, and you accept that many New Zealand blue chips fail on debt or on interest income. Our halal stocks hub lists the screening steps. Combining a US halal ETF core with a handful of screened local shares is the pattern most Kiwi Muslims who have thought about it settle on.
Purification when you own a halal ETF
Screened does not mean spotless. The FTSE and S&P screens tolerate up to 5% of revenue from non-compliant sources and allow some interest income, and that residue flows into the fund's dividends. HLAL's prospectus says the fund publishes the per-share amount to be purified quarterly on its website; multiply by your shares and give that sum to charity without expecting reward. SPUS and SPSK publish less in the prospectus about purification, so check the SP Funds site or apply a conservative estimate to dividends received. Sukuk coupons from SPSK are profit shares on underlying assets rather than interest, which is why the fund describes itself as interest-free, but a cautious investor still reviews the holdings.
The method and the madhhab differences are in our guide to purification of investment income. The one New Zealand twist is that the deemed-return FIF tax is paid whether or not you received dividends, so in a low-dividend year you may be paying tax on income you did not get and purifying income you did. Keep both calculations separate; tax is owed to Inland Revenue and purification is owed to the poor, and neither offsets the other.
Who should choose what
If you want one fund and a monthly auto-invest, choose SPUS on whichever platform lists it, and start purifying from the first dividend. If you want a two-fund equity core, add HLAL for the mid-cap exposure and the published purification number. If you are within ten years of needing the money or you want something that does not move with the US stock market, hold SPSK as your defensive sleeve and accept the 0.50% fee as the price of the only sukuk ETF a retail Kiwi can buy.
If you would rather someone else screened, purified and handled tax inside a PIE, the Always-Ethical AE Investor fund is the domestic alternative, at a higher all-in cost and with no exchange listing. Whatever you pick, confirm the ticker is live in the app before you exchange currency, and read the FIF rules before your foreign holdings cross the threshold, not after. Facts checked against hatchinvest.nz, sharesies.nz, investnow.co.nz, sp-funds.com, wahed.com, sec.gov on 22 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a halal ETF listed on the NZX?
Not that we could find. No NZX-listed ETF describes itself as Shariah-compliant, and New Zealand's only Shariah-screened fund manager, Always-Ethical, runs an unlisted managed fund rather than an ETF. The halal ETFs available to New Zealanders are US-listed and bought through platforms such as Hatch and Sharesies that offer NYSE and Nasdaq instruments.
Can I buy HLAL or SPUS on Sharesies?
Sharesies offers ETFs listed on the Nasdaq, NYSE and Cboe, which covers both, and its site says investors can request any US-listed ETF not yet offered. We could not confirm the tickers from public pages because instruments are listed inside the app. Search the ticker before funding your account, and use the request form if it is missing.
What does HLAL cost per year?
HLAL's summary prospectus lists a management fee of 0.50% and other expenses of 0.00%, giving total annual fund operating expenses of 0.50%. That is deducted inside the fund. On top of it you pay your platform's brokerage, US$3 per order on Hatch for under 300 shares or up to US$5 per US order on Sharesies, plus currency exchange.
Is SPSK really interest-free if it pays a 5% yield?
SPSK holds sukuk, which are certificates giving a share in underlying assets or ventures, and the distributions are profit on those assets rather than interest on a loan. SP Funds describes the fund as offering interest-free fixed-income exposure. The 30-day SEC yield of 5.04% at 30 September 2026 reflects sukuk profit rates. Investors who want certainty should review the holdings list and their scholar's view on sovereign sukuk.
Do I still need to purify dividends from a halal ETF?
Yes. Screens permit up to 5% of a company's revenue from non-compliant sources, so a small share of each dividend needs giving away. HLAL publishes a quarterly per-share purification figure on its website. For SPUS, apply the fund's guidance if published or a conservative estimate. SPSK's sukuk distributions generally need no purification, but check the holdings.
Compare providers in your region
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Why is tax the biggest catch for New Zealand ETF buyers?
These ETFs are foreign investment funds under New Zealand tax law. Below Inland Revenue's cost threshold you are taxed on dividends only; above it you are taxed on a deemed 5% return on opening market value each year, whether or not you received any income. Low-yield halal equity ETFs make this bite harder. Our FIF guide explains the methods and the proposed threshold change.
