Wahed is the world’s first automated investing service for the US$2 trillion Shari’ah investment market. Based in the US with a growing international footprint, Wahed gives retail investors access to low-cost, diversified, Halal portfolios. Global Head of Portfolios Samim Abedi explains the inspiration behind Wahed and why gold is such an integral part of its offer.

Holdings in global gold-backed ETFs and similar products rose by 69 tonnes(t) to 2,440t in 2018, equivalent to US$3.4bn of inflows. Global gold-backed ETFs grew 3% in 2018, driven by strong growth in European funds and increased global inflows during December.** This is the first time since 2012 that the value of total gold-backed ETF holdings has finished the year above US$100bn.