Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA)
Islamic Investing in Northern Ireland
A simplified-advice discretionary investment service from one of the UK's longest-running Islamic wealth managers (FCA 511220): answer an online risk questionnaire and Simply Ethical allocates you to one of seven Sharia-compliant model portfolios, from Defensive (67% Franklin Global Sukuk Fund, 20% equities, 12.5% Royal Mint physical gold) to Progressive Growth (77% Schroder Islamic Global Equity Fund, 10% sukuk, 12.5% gold), held in an ISA, GIA or Junior ISA on the Fundment platform. Minimum GBP 1,000, tiered annual fee starting at 0.75% (first GBP 50,999) falling to 0.25% over GBP 1 million, with underlying fund costs of roughly 0.37-0.39%. Five-year average annual returns ranged 4.2% to 13.3% across the portfolios (July 2021 to June 2026). A 180-day risk reassessment keeps allocations on track, and full personal advice is available for larger sums.
Simply Ethical is the quiet professional of UK halal investing: less marketing than Wahed, more governance substance than almost anyone. The binding scholar committee, verifiable certificates and done-for-you zakah are exactly what a compliance-first investor should ask of a wealth manager, and the tiered fee is honest value once balances pass GBP 50,000. The trade-offs are the GBP 1,000 floor, the limited scope of the online advice (it will not tell you whether an ISA or pension suits you), and portfolio construction that leans hard on three funds. Best used as intended: a properly governed core portfolio with the religious accounting handled, not a trading platform.
Pros
- Binding two-scholar Sharia Committee with published verifiable certificates, rare firm-level governance in UK retail
- Zakah and purification done for you annually, unique service depth
- Total cost around 1.1% all-in at entry undercuts Wahed's 1% plus fund costs while adding an advice layer
- Portfolios diversify across sukuk, equities and gold using third-party institutional funds rather than in-house products
Cons
- GBP 1,000 minimum is 20x Wahed's entry point
- Simplified advice does not assess account-type suitability or existing arrangements; full advice needs GBP 50,000-100,000+
- Underlying fund lineup is concentrated in three funds plus gold; equity exposure below Growth tiers relies on a single Europe-focused Islamic ETF
- Smaller brand with thinner public performance disclosure than the fund giants it allocates to
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Product Details
Type
advised_portfolio
Min Investment
GBP 1,000
Fee
0.75% p.a. first GBP 50,999; 0.70% to GBP 100,999; 0.65% to GBP 250,999; 0.40% to GBP 1m; 0.25% above
Account Types
Stocks & Shares ISA, GIA, JISA, SIPP
Screening Method
Fund-level Sharia certification review plus in-house screening tighter than AAOIFI for direct equities; <=5% non-compliant income tolerance with purification
Holdings
Franklin Global Sukuk Fund, Schroder Islamic Global Equity Fund, HSBC MSCI Europe Islamic ESG UCITS ETF, The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC Securities, 0.5% cash
Simply Ethical in Northern Ireland
Simply Ethical's Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA) is accessible to investors in Northern Ireland, structured as Simplified-advice discretionary portfolios of Islamic funds and gold: Islamic funds and platforms in the UK are national digital products, so location matters less than fees and governance. Minimum investment: GBP 1,000. Simply Ethical operates across the UK, so Northern Ireland residents have full access to this product.
Our Take on Simply Ethical
Simply Ethical is the strongest governance proposition in UK halal retail investing: a binding scholar committee at firm level, verifiable certificates, tighter-than-AAOIFI equity screening and religious accounting done for clients. Its investment proposition is solid if unspectacular - seven sensible portfolios built from third-party institutional Islamic funds - and its pricing is honest, beating the robo competition above roughly GBP 50,000. What it lacks is reach and polish: a GBP 1,000 minimum, a simplified advice journey with real scope limits, and a brand presence far smaller than its substance deserves. For investors who rank compliance depth and advice above app slickness, it is arguably the best choice in the market.
How Simply Ethical Works
Complete the online journey
Answer the risk and objectives questionnaire; the service recommends one of seven portfolios for a minimum GBP 1,000 investment.
Pick your wrapper
Flexible Stocks & Shares ISA, GIA, JISA or SIPP on Fundment; transfers in are free and adviser support is available.
Discretionary management runs
The firm manages and rebalances the portfolio; you reconfirm your risk profile at 180 days; fees deduct monthly in arrears.
Religious accounting arrives annually
Zakah owed and purification amounts are calculated and communicated so you can donate correctly.
Financing Structure
Simply Ethical operates as a discretionary investment manager with a simplified advice front end: the online questionnaire produces a regulated (if scope-limited) portfolio recommendation, after which the firm manages the allocation on a discretionary basis using certified third-party Islamic funds and physical gold. Wrappers sit on the Fundment platform. Firm-level Sharia certification means the advice process, platform arrangements and zakah methodology are all inside the scholars' remit, not just the underlying funds.
In-Depth Analysis
Simply Ethical Financial Services Ltd (FCA No. 511220, Company No. 07046241) is among the longest-standing dedicated Islamic wealth managers in Britain, operating from Slough with a service stack spanning simplified online advice, comprehensive personal advice, discretionary portfolio management and bespoke mandates. The online advice service allocates clients to one of seven risk-graded model portfolios after a questionnaire, with a 180-day risk reassessment cycle (simplyethical.com, crawled 2026-08-06).
Portfolio construction runs from Defensive (67% Franklin Global Sukuk Fund, 20% equities via the HSBC MSCI Europe Islamic ESG UCITS ETF, 12.5% Royal Mint physical gold) through to Progressive Growth (77% Schroder Islamic Global Equity Fund, 10% sukuk, 12.5% gold), always holding 0.5% cash. Five-year average annual returns ranged from 4.2% (Defensive) to 13.3% (Progressive Growth) for July 2021 to June 2026. The reliance on three third-party institutional funds plus gold is deliberate: each carries its own Sharia certification which the firm reviews alongside screening criteria and ongoing monitoring.
Fees are tiered by balance: 0.75% on the first GBP 50,999, 0.70% to GBP 100,999, 0.65% to GBP 250,999, 0.40% to GBP 1 million and 0.25% above, deducted monthly in arrears, with no set-up, dealing, transfer, withdrawal or exit fees. Underlying fund charges average 0.37-0.39%. Accounts (flexible ISA, GIA, JISA, SIPP) sit on the Fundment platform. The pension service adds adviser-led consolidation: existing workplace and personal pensions are reviewed and, where suitable, transferred into one discretionary strategy.
The Sharia governance file is the differentiator. Shariyah Review Bureau assigned a two-scholar committee - Mufti Faraz Adam and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad - whose pronouncements are binding on the firm; SRB audits annually; and the certificates covering the ethical investment policy, the zakah and purification methodology and the investment platforms are published with verification codes checkable against SRB's registry. Direct equity mandates apply financial screens tighter than the industry-standard AAOIFI thresholds, and the firm calculates zakah and purification amounts for all relevant clients each year.
Shariah Compliance Details
- Binding Sharia Committee via SRB: Mufti Faraz Adam and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad (simplyethical.com/sharia-compliance, crawled 2026-08-06)
- Annual SRB Sharia audit of the firm
- Published certificates with verification codes: ethical policy, zakah/purification methodology, investment platforms
- Direct equity screening tighter than AAOIFI baseline; <=5% non-compliant income tolerance with purification
- FCA authorised: Simply Ethical Financial Services Ltd, No. 511220
How Simply Ethical Compares
Simply Ethical versus Wahed is advice-and-governance versus app-and-accessibility: Wahed starts at GBP 50 with slicker onboarding, Simply Ethical answers with binding scholar rulings, tighter screens, human advisers and cheaper tiers above GBP 50,000. Versus DIY platforms, the 0.75% headline plus ~0.38% fund costs buys regulated advice and zakah accounting that self-directed investors must do themselves. Its pension consolidation service has no genuine halal competitor except full-fee IFAs.
Cheaper to start and faster to open, with published Shariah reports, but no advice layer and pricier at scale.
Its Islamic Global Equity Fund is Simply Ethical's own growth engine; direct purchase suits investors who only want that exposure.
For sophisticated investors adding halal private credit yield on top of a Simply Ethical core portfolio.
Bottom Line
The compliance-deepest wealth manager in UK halal investing: binding scholars, verifiable certificates and zakah done for you, at pricing that gets sharper as balances grow. Accept the GBP 1,000 floor and the modest fund menu, and it is the thinking investor's choice.
Read full Simply Ethical reviewShariah Compliance & Oversight
Sharia Committee assigned by Shariyah Review Bureau: Mufti Faraz Adam (IFQ, CIFE, CSAA) and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad (Masters, 9+ years). The committee independently issues pronouncements that are binding on the firm; SRB audits Simply Ethical annually and the Sharia certificates (ethical policy, zakah and purification methodology, investment platforms) are published with verification codes checkable on SRB's site (simplyethical.com/sharia-compliance, crawled 2026-08-06).
2026-08-06
Why It's Halal
Simply Ethical is one of very few UK firms with firm-level Shariah certification rather than fund-level only: Shariyah Review Bureau assigned a two-scholar Sharia Committee (Mufti Faraz Adam and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad) whose pronouncements are binding on the firm, with annual SRB audits, and the certificates for the ethical policy, zakah/purification methodology and the investment platforms are published and independently verifiable on SRB's registry. Portfolio building blocks are established Islamic funds (Franklin Global Sukuk, Schroder Islamic Global Equity, HSBC MSCI Europe Islamic ESG ETF, Royal Mint gold), and for direct equity mandates the firm applies screening tighter than the AAOIFI baseline. Zakah and purification amounts are calculated for clients annually - a service almost no UK competitor operationalises (simplyethical.com/sharia-compliance, crawled 2026-08-06).
Regional Availability
Simply Ethical serves all of the UK
✓ Available nationwide including Northern Ireland
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Total Value
£343,778
Contributed
£130,000
Growth
£213,778
Hypothetical projection. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Compare FundsFrequently Asked Questions
What is Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA)?
Why is Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA) considered halal?
Is Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA) available in Northern Ireland?
What Shariah oversight does Simply Ethical have?
What financing structure does Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA) use?
How do I apply for Simply Ethical Online Advice Portfolios (ISA / GIA / JISA) in Northern Ireland?
What halal home finance reaches Northern Ireland?
Can NI residents use Islamic banks and pensions?
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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.