Shariah mutual funds in Bangladesh: what the returns actually show
Halal-certified funds rank against conventional ones over the same window, with the gap measured rather than assumed. Figures rebuild from NAV history daily.
These figures update themselves. Every number below is recalculated from NAV history each day, so this page is current as of 27 August 2026 rather than the day it was written.
Choosing a Shariah-compliant fund is a decision about principle first. But most people still want to know the cost, if there is one, and that question usually gets answered with opinion instead of arithmetic.
Here is the arithmetic, over a window every tracked fund can fill.
The Shariah funds, ranked
7 of the 34 funds we track are Shariah-compliant.
| # | Fund | Type | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EDGE Al-Amin Shariah Consumer Fund | Balanced | 8.98% |
| 2 | IDLC AML Shariah Fund | Growth | 5.56% |
| 3 | LankaBangla Al-Arafah Shariah Unit Fund | Balanced | 5.05% |
| 4 | Shanta Amanah Shariah Fund | Growth | 4.64% |
| 5 | ICL INCTL Shariah Fund | Balanced | 2.95% |
| 6 | CWT Community Bank Shariah Fund | Growth | 2.41% |
| 7 | UCB Taqwa Growth Fund | Growth | 1.28% |
EDGE Al-Amin Shariah Consumer Fund leads that group at 8.98% a year.
The gap, measured
Averaged across the group, Shariah funds returned 4.41% a year over 2 years. Conventional funds averaged 10.70%.
Over this window the Shariah group came out behind the conventional group by 6.29 percentage points a year.
Two cautions about that number, both of which matter more than the number itself.
It is one window. A gap measured over 2 years tells you what happened, not what is structural. Screening rules do not change from year to year, but the sectors they permit go in and out of favour like everything else.
It is a group average, and the groups are not the same size. With 7 funds on one side, a single unusual fund pulls the average further than it would in a larger group. The individual figures in the table are more informative than the average of them.
Why a screened portfolio behaves differently
Shariah screening rules out interest-bearing income and certain business activities, which removes conventional banks, insurers and leasing companies from the universe. In Bangladesh those are a substantial part of the listed market.
The effect is a portfolio tilted toward the sectors that remain. When those sectors do well, a screened fund can outperform without its manager doing anything clever. When they lag, the same fund lags for reasons that have nothing to do with the manager's skill.
That is worth understanding before reading any single year as a judgment on Shariah investing. You are partly measuring a sector bet.
Checking a fund's screening for yourself
Compliance is not a single national standard applied identically. Each fund states its screening approach in its prospectus and is overseen by its own Shariah supervisory arrangement, so two compliant funds can hold noticeably different things.
If it matters to you, the fund's own holdings disclosure is the document to read, not the label. Every tracked fund on this site has a holdings panel built from its AMC portfolio statement, which is the fastest way to see what a fund actually owns.
Common questions
How many Shariah funds are tracked here?
7 out of 34, all shown in the table above with figures through 27 August 2026.
Does Shariah compliance mean lower returns?
Not inherently. Over this particular window the group averaged 4.41% against 10.70% for conventional funds, but that reflects which sectors performed, not a rule that screened funds must trail.
Are these funds certified by the same body?
No. Each fund sets out its own screening approach and supervisory arrangement in its prospectus, which is why two compliant funds can hold different things.
Can I see what a Shariah fund holds?
Yes. Each fund page carries a holdings panel built from the AMC's own portfolio statement, showing asset mix and the largest named positions.