Always-Ethical Review - Halal Finance Products
Reviewed quarterly and updated for major content changes.
Always-Ethical offers halal financial products and services designed to align with Islamic principles. These options provide alternatives to conventional interest-based financial products, using structures like Murabaha, Ijara, and Musharakah.
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HalalWallet 2026 Review
Always-Ethical - At a Glance
2
Products Reviewed
All
Regions (Nationwide)
2
Categories
Our Verdict
Always-Ethical is the entire domestic halal fund market of New Zealand in one Takapuna boutique, and it deserves more credit than its size and fees first suggest: the mandate mechanics, purification accounting and external assurance are unusually transparent, and the long-run returns have absorbed the cost stack. The honest counterweights are fees near ten times the NZ low-cost leaders, a single aggressive fund with no de-risking option, an active cash-timing style that makes outcomes manager-dependent, and a 2017-18 public fight with the FMA. If Shariah compliance is a requirement, this is the only certified option and a defensible one; if it is a preference, price the 2.5 to 3 percentage point annual fee gap honestly.
Pros & Cons
What We Like
- Only certified halal KiwiSaver and retail halal fund in New Zealand
- Named advisory board, daily third-party screening data and annual SAE 3100 assurance
- Purification quantified and published (0.34% of NAV in the year measured for AE Investor)
- Strong ten-year KiwiSaver record net of its own fees
- Independent supervision and custody through Trustees Executors and Apex
What Could Be Better
- Total costs around 3.16% to 3.44% p.a. plus member fees, versus 0.25% to 0.31% at NZ low-cost providers
- One fund, one risk setting: no conservative option for members near retirement
- US-only equity universe with heavy discretionary cash allocations (about 69% cash at 31 March 2026)
- Sued the FMA in 2018 over supervision decisions after a 2017 dispute; directors sought damages
- Compliance branded as Abrahamic in the PDS rather than certified by a formal Shariah report
Who Is Always-Ethical Best For?
Muslim employees wanting employer and government KiwiSaver contributions without riba
The only Shariah-compliant KiwiSaver scheme in the country
Savers building halal wealth outside the KiwiSaver lock-in
AE Investor has no minimum and about five-day liquidity
Investors who want stricter-than-typical Islamic fund mechanics
Zero-bond construction with purification disclosed as a line item
Detailed Analysis
Always-Ethical Limited began as Amanah Trust Management (NZ) Limited, incorporated 29 July 2013, launched the AmanahNZ unit trust on 1 September 2013 and opened the Amanah KiwiSaver Plan to members on 24 March 2014 (scheme registered 15 January 2014, registration 10076). On 30 September 2021 the company and products rebranded: Amanah KiwiSaver Plan became AE KiwiSaver Plan and AmanahNZ became AE Investor. Founder Brian Henry, a barrister with over 45 years' experience, sits on the board alongside Prof Faruk Balli (Massey University, formerly senior economist at the Central Bank of Qatar), chair Gregory Fortuin and Dr Anwar-Ul Ghani MNZM, with Dennis Jay Gates also appointed in 2021 (companies register data and fund updates, verified 2026-08-07).
The investment architecture is deliberately narrow. Both funds may hold only up to 50 ordinary shares of companies listed on the NYSE, NYSE MKT or Nasdaq main board, or cash in USD or NZD. Preference shares, bonds, derivatives, leverage and every interest-based instrument are prohibited outright. Financial ratio screens require interest-bearing debt and interest-bearing investments each below 30% and good-of-humanity assets above 67% of total assets. The manager describes the style as absolute return: the Investment Committee can run anywhere from 100% equities to 100% cash, and at 31 March 2026 the KiwiSaver fund actually held about 69% in cash and income assets, which is why Sorted Smart Investor benchmarks it against conservative funds despite its aggressive label and risk indicator of 7.
Religious governance has three layers: the AE Advisory Board (Sheikh Mohammad Amir, Dr Ahmed Rufai, Prof Faruk Balli) reviews Strict Ethical Mandate compliance without selecting investments; the manager screens holdings daily using IdealRatings data, with non-compliant stocks sold the next trading day and the OMI stating the mandate ensures AAOIFI compliance; and external auditors issue an annual SAE 3100 assurance report on mandate compliance, published on the documents pages. Purification is structural: all dividends are purified, unavoidable interest is diverted by the registry into a purification account, and the donation to registered charities appears in the audited financial statements and as a disclosed fund expense.
Costs and history are where scrutiny lands. The KiwiSaver PDS of 8 May 2026 estimates total annual charges at 3.16% plus a NZD 32.40 member fee, and actual charges were 3.33% in the year to 31 March 2025; AE Investor runs at about 3.29% all-in. In 2017 the FMA determined, without consultation according to the manager, that the funds had stopped managing investments during a period when the directors held existing investments and accumulated contributions pending a capital raise; the firm was restricted from marketing and needed FMA permission to process new KiwiSaver applications, and in 2018 it sued the FMA alleging breaches of natural justice, with directors seeking damages. The licence, granted 7 November 2016, has remained active throughout, and the scheme has operated continuously since (NZ Herald and Stuff reporting, FMA licence register, verified 2026-08-07).
How It Works
Both products are trusts under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. The AE KiwiSaver Plan (a registered KiwiSaver scheme under the KiwiSaver Act 2006) has one fund that invests into AE Investor, a USD-denominated PIE unit trust, keeping a single screened portfolio at the bottom of the stack. The Strict Ethical Mandate is a written restricted-investment mandate recorded in a published memorandum and embedded in each SIPO: up to 50 US-listed stocks passing AAOIFI-aligned ratio screens, or cash. Manager AE KiwiSaver Limited delegates management to parent Always-Ethical Limited; Trustees Executors Limited supervises, Apex Investment Administration (NZ) Ltd holds assets, and Appello Services Ltd runs the registry and unit pricing. Purification operates at the registry level (interest diverted before it reaches the fund account) and at the accounting level (dividend purification accrued and donated to charities annually).
Join or invest
AE KiwiSaver Plan: transfer or enrol via the application form in the PDS. AE Investor: apply with the PDS form, no minimum (sums under NZD 100 pool in a registry wallet until NZD 100).
The mandate does the screening
Holdings are limited to up to 50 US-listed stocks passing the Strict Ethical Mandate ratios, checked daily against IdealRatings data; breaches are sold the next trading day.
Purification and reporting
Dividends are purified and unavoidable interest is diverted to a purification account, donated annually to registered charities and disclosed in audited financials, fund updates and the annual SAE 3100 report.
Shariah Compliance Review
Oversight Level
Review details on provider's website
FMA licence: managed investment scheme manager, granted 7 November 2016, FSP312967, status active (fma.govt.nz, verified 2026-08-07)
AE Advisory Board members named in the OMIs: Sheikh Mohammad Amir, Dr Ahmed Rufai, Prof Faruk Balli (verified 2026-08-07)
Daily compliance monitoring with IdealRatings; OMI states the Strict Ethical Mandate ensures compliance with AAOIFI standards (verified 2026-08-07)
Annual SAE 3100 Ethical Mandate assurance report and Strict Ethical Mandate memorandum published on the key documents pages (verified 2026-08-07)
KiwiSaver scheme registered 15 January 2014 (registration 10076); supervisor Trustees Executors Limited; custodian Apex Investment Administration (NZ) Ltd
Shariah compliance should always be verified directly with Always-Ethical. HalalWallet reports publicly available oversight information but does not issue fatwas or certify compliance.
How It Compares
Within New Zealand there is no like-for-like competitor: Pathfinder, Simplicity, Kernel and Booster SRI apply exclusion screens that overlap with parts of the mandate but none screens riba, none excludes conventional finance, and none has Shariah oversight, at fees between roughly 0.25% and 1.1%. Against offshore Islamic funds accessible to NZ investors through brokers (for example global Shariah ETFs at 0.30% to 0.60%), Always-Ethical is far more expensive but is the only option inside the KiwiSaver wrapper, with its employer and government contributions, and the only NZ-regulated PIE doing automatic purification.
Bottom Line
New Zealand's entire certified halal fund market is this one Takapuna boutique, and it executes the religious mechanics better than its size suggests: named board, daily screening, quantified purification, external assurance. Accept the roughly 3.2% cost stack and single aggressive fund as the price of certified compliance in a market of five million people, and use the Disclose Register fund updates to watch the cash allocation, because that, more than stock picking, drives results here.
Products from Always-Ethical
Why It's Halal
Identical Strict Ethical Mandate to the KiwiSaver plan, applied directly: prohibited activities include anything earning interest (all banks, money lenders, insurers), gambling, derivatives, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult entertainment, gold and silver hedging, pork, fossil fuel exploration and leverage. Financial ratios require interest-bearing debt under 30%, interest-bearing investments under 30% and good-of-humanity assets above 67%. Holdings with prohibited activity above 5% are sold the next trading day. Compliance is monitored daily with IdealRatings and the OMI states the mandate ensures compliance with AAOIFI standards; the AE Advisory Board (Sheikh Mohammad Amir, Dr Ahmed Rufai, Prof Faruk Balli) reviews mandate compliance. Purification is built into the fund's accounting: all dividends are purified, unavoidable interest is diverted into a purification account and the annual purification donation to registered charities is disclosed as a fund expense (0.34% of NAV in the year measured). An SAE 3100 assurance report and a memorandum recording the Strict Ethical Mandate are published on the key documents page (AE Investor PDS 1 April 2025 and OMI, crawled 2026-08-07).
Always-Ethical
AE Investor Unit Trust (formerly AmanahNZ)
A US dollar denominated PIE managed fund, started 1 September 2013, that holds up to 50 ordinary shares of companies listed on the NYSE, NYSE MKT or Nasdaq main board, or cash in USD or NZD, under the same Strict Ethical Mandate as the AE KiwiSaver Plan (which invests through this trust). Open to all with no minimum investment: sums under NZD 100 are held in an individual wallet by the registry (Appello Services Ltd) until they reach NZD 100, then units are issued. Contributions accepted in NZD or USD from an AML/CFT compliant bank account. Withdrawals at any time by written notice, paid in USD or NZD; full redemption takes up to 5 working days, with 90% payable the same day if urgent. Absolute-return style with a risk indicator of 7; target mix 80% equities and 20% cash with full committee discretion. Supervisor Trustees Executors Limited, custodian Apex Investment Administration (NZ) Ltd. Returns net of expenses and before tax to 30 April 2026: 18.29% for one year, 4.62% p.a. over three years, 3.14% p.a. over five years, 6.39% p.a. over ten years.
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Always-Ethical
AE KiwiSaver Plan (formerly Amanah KiwiSaver Plan)
New Zealand's only Shariah-compliant KiwiSaver scheme, operating since members were first accepted on 24 March 2014 (scheme registered 15 January 2014, registration number 10076). The scheme has a single fund that invests through AE Investor, a unit trust run by parent company Always-Ethical Limited, into up to 50 US stocks listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq plus cash in USD or NZD. There are no bonds and no fixed interest anywhere in the structure because interest-bearing instruments are prohibited under the Strict Ethical Mandate. The manager is AE KiwiSaver Limited (90% owned by Always-Ethical Limited), the supervisor is Trustees Executors Limited and the custodian is Apex Investment Administration (NZ) Ltd, both independent of the manager. The fund runs an absolute-return style: the target mix is 80% equities and 20% cash but the Investment Committee has full discretion from 100% equities to 100% cash, and at 31 March 2026 it actually held about 69% in cash and income assets. Risk indicator 7 of 7 under an alternative methodology. It is a PIE taxed at each member's PIR. Returns net of fees and before tax to 31 March 2026: 22.28% for one year, 8.09% p.a. over three years, 7.47% p.a. over five years and 8.48% p.a. over ten years.
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Where Available
Based on listings we track, Always-Ethical operates nationwide:
Nationwide availability
Availability may vary by product type. Always verify current availability directly with Always-Ethical.
How We Compare
- • We review publicly available information from providers, including Shariah compliance documentation.
- • We compare financing structures, total costs, down payment requirements, and state availability.
- • We prioritize providers that clearly explain their halal compliance rationale and operate with transparency.
- • We note which products are available nationwide versus regionally.
- • Learn more about our methodology.
Quick Answer
Always-Ethical offers halal financial products that comply with Shariah principles, avoiding interest (riba) and prohibited industries. Their products are available in 1 state and include Investing, Retirement options.
Key Takeaways
- Always-Ethical offers Shariah-compliant financial products that avoid interest and prohibited industries.
- Products are available in 1 state: Nationwide.
- Product categories include Investing, Retirement.
- Always verify compliance directly with Always-Ethical and consult qualified Islamic finance advisors when needed.
- Compare Always-Ethical's products with other providers to find the best fit for your needs.
Important: HalalWallet provides educational information and comparisons to help you explore halal financial options. We do not provide financial, legal, or religious advice. Product structures and Shariah compliance oversight vary by provider. Always verify halal compliance directly with providers and consult with qualified Islamic finance advisors or scholars for guidance on specific products and your individual circumstances.
Sources and review process
This page is reviewed against HalalWallet editorial standards and source documentation.
Reviewed by: HalalWallet Editorial Team
Last reviewed: 2026-03-09
How to cite this page
Preferred format:
For time-sensitive claims (rates, fees, state availability), please verify directly with the provider's official documentation and note the retrieval date.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of halal products does Always-Ethical offer?
Always-Ethical offers 2 products across 2 categories. Always-Ethical is best for [object Object],[object Object],[object Object]. Review the products listed above or contact Always-Ethical directly for current offerings.
How does Always-Ethical ensure Shariah compliance?
FMA licence: managed investment scheme manager, granted 7 November 2016, FSP312967, status active (fma.govt.nz, verified 2026-08-07) AE Advisory Board members named in the OMIs: Sheikh Mohammad Amir, Dr Ahmed Rufai, Prof Faruk Balli (verified 2026-08-07) Daily compliance monitoring with IdealRatings; OMI states the Strict Ethical Mandate ensures compliance with AAOIFI standards (verified 2026-08-07) Annual SAE 3100 Ethical Mandate assurance report and Strict Ethical Mandate memorandum published on the key documents pages (verified 2026-08-07) KiwiSaver scheme registered 15 January 2014 (registration 10076); supervisor Trustees Executors Limited; custodian Apex Investment Administration (NZ) Ltd
How does Always-Ethical work?
Join or invest: AE KiwiSaver Plan: transfer or enrol via the application form in the PDS. AE Investor: apply with the PDS form, no minimum (sums under NZD 100 pool in a registry wallet until NZD 100). The mandate does the screening: Holdings are limited to up to 50 US-listed stocks passing the Strict Ethical Mandate ratios, checked daily against IdealRatings data; breaches are sold the next trading day. Purification and reporting: Dividends are purified and unavoidable interest is diverted to a purification account, donated annually to registered charities and disclosed in audited financials, fund updates and the annual SAE 3100 report.
Is Always-Ethical available in my state?
Always-Ethical operates nationwide, though specific products may have regional limitations. Always verify current availability directly with Always-Ethical.
What are alternatives to Always-Ethical?
Within New Zealand there is no like-for-like competitor: Pathfinder, Simplicity, Kernel and Booster SRI apply exclusion screens that overlap with parts of the mandate but none screens riba, none excludes conventional finance, and none has Shariah oversight, at fees between roughly 0.25% and 1.1%. Against offshore Islamic funds accessible to NZ investors through brokers (for example global Shariah ETFs at 0.30% to 0.60%), Always-Ethical is far more expensive but is the only option inside the KiwiSaver wrapper, with its employer and government contributions, and the only NZ-regulated PIE doing automatic purification. Zoya: Free-to-cheap AAOIFI screening for DIY portfolios via NZ brokers; no fund wrapper, no purification automation, no KiwiSaver benefits. Musaffa: Deeper research and partial NZX coverage for self-directed halal investing; same DIY trade-offs versus a managed PIE.
Are Always-Ethical's products more expensive than conventional options?
Halal financing structures can have different fee structures compared to conventional products. Some options may be competitive with conventional rates, while others may have different cost structures. Pricing varies by product type, location, and individual circumstances. Always compare total costs and terms when evaluating options.
How do I contact Always-Ethical?
Contact information for Always-Ethical should be available through their website or the product listings above. Use the action links provided with each product to visit Always-Ethical's website or contact them directly for more information.
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