Our Sharia-compliant lifestyle profile has more risks than other lifestyle options in our investment range. It is less diversified because of Sharia screening and the geographical areas that the option invests in. Find out more about Sharia-compliant investment risk in our Approach to Sharia-compliant investing guide.
If you're unsure whether this option is suitable for you, you should seek financial advice.
A Sharia investment you can trust
Our Sharia Universal Strategic Lifestyle Profile (SLP) aims to help you invest in line with your values and beliefs.
Our experts have done the hard work for you finding appropriate funds and will aim to make Sharia compliant investment decisions for you, now and in the future.
There are three ways the Sharia Universal SLP can give you peace of mind:
- Standard Life investment professionals have tailored the investment option to comply with Sharia principles, and the investment has a Sharia compliance certificate
- We have created a Standard Life Sharia Supervisory Group with independent expert Sharia advisers who’ll keep an ongoing watch on the investment option as a whole
- The Standard Life Sharia Supervisory Group is complemented by separate Sharia committees for the underlying funds
Documents to download
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Sharia Certificate of Compliance
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Approach to Sharia-compliant investing
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Guide to our Sharia Universal SLP
How the Sharia Universal SLP works
Our Sharia Universal SLP helps to prepare your pension savings by moving them between selected funds as you get closer to retirement. When you're in a lifestyle profile, we’ll manage your investments right up until you retire. So you can invest for your future while staying compliant with Sharia law.
Investments are managed by major global investment managers HSBC Asset Management and Franklin Templeton. Both organisations have over 20 years’ experience of Sharia investment.
We know how important it is to actively avoid key activities as well as invest in the right ones. Our Sharia-compliant investment takes steps to ensure the following aren’t included in the fund:
Haram: forbidden activities, including companies involved in: alcohol, tobacco, pork products, conventional banking and finance, weapons and certain types of entertainment
Riba: paying or charging interest - in Islamic law, Riba is an exploitative practice that favours the lender at the expense of the borrower
Maisir: gambling and speculation - where the ownership of goods depends on an uncertain event in the future
Gharar: excessive uncertainty and risk - forbidden under Islamic law
Why choose Sharia Universal SLP?
The profile could help you to:
- Invest in a way that complies with Sharia principles
- Take comfort from its two layers of expert Sharia review
- Achieve the retirement you want
While the funds will aim for investment growth, financial outomes are a secondary consideration. If Sharia-compliance is not your primary investment objective, you should also consider other investment options.
How the profile aligns with you and your life stage
This lifestyle profile has two stages. Here’s a breakdown of how your money is invested and what happens as you get closer to retirement:
- When you’re a long way from retirement, your money will be invested in the Standard Life Sharia Growth Pension Fund, which aims to increase the value of your plan over time using a Sharia approach
- As you get nearer to retirement, your money gradually starts to move to the Standard Life Sharia At Retirement Fund, which aims to prepare your money for retirement
You don't need to do anything as this happens automatically.
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