Niraj Vyas, Financial Planning director at Guardian Wealth Management, looks in this Technical Update at the growing demand for Islamic finance in the UK and the role Financial Planning will play within this expanding realm.
From its humble beginnings in Tunisia, we have been witness to an extraordinary civil resistance against repressive dictatorships. At the very heart of the Arab Spring lies individual and societal freedoms but what is particularly interesting is that this overwhelming desire for liberty is likely to lead to more democratically- elected governments and with that, the promise of moral leadership and shared values.
This in turn, looks likely to have a knock-on effect on Islamic finance, says Mr Vyas. With Islamist parties now dominating the political landscape in some territories, the finance industry will likely discover a wealth of opportunities as individuals are encouraged to organise their financial affairs in a manner consistent with their religious beliefs.

A key question to start with is what constitutes Islamic finance? While most of us have an idea about what constitutes the Islamic belief, Islamic finance remains an altogether vaguer notion.
The basis of Islamic finance stems from Shariah and broadly speaking is a matter of finding the right balance between spending, donating and saving.
Its modern birth occurred in the 1960s and gathered pace with the petro-dollar boom of the 1970s. This prompted the creation of the Islamic Development Bank in 1975, which was borne out of a desire to support acceptable financial practices according to Islam.
Today, Shariah-compliant investing can be categorised by three over-riding principles; procedural, substantive and charitable.
The first, and perhaps most important, forbids the use of interest payments based on the belief that people should not benefit from lending money. This forces credit to be either interest free, or as is more common, provided only through the form of a partnership or joint venture.
It also forbids the use of gambling and uncertainty, ruling out many mainstream financial products and investments and resulting in making Islamic finance rather risk averse. Instead, products are structured in such a way that risk and profit are shared between the investor and the organisation arranging the investment. The second principle calls for investments to be compliant with Shariah law and therefore prohibits the inclusion of alcohol, gambling, pork, pornography and tobacco investments. And finally, the third stipulates that investors set aside a certain amount for the purpose of charitable giving, in order to purify one's wealth as well as help others.
As such, many typical Western financial products and paths are ruled out for Islamic individuals, making the Financial Planning process a much more complex beast.
But one could also argue with some validity that if conventional Western institutions had followed the basic principles of Islamic finance, which provide an additional risk screen, some investors could have been spared from the worst excesses of the current financial crisis. It is certainly worth noting that Shariah-compliant banks have fared better than many conventional banks during the downturn, thanks to the fact that speculation and profits are forbidden.
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Trillion dollar business
While Western financial institutions have been marred by distrust, scandal and falling profits, Islamic finance has gone from strength to strength.
The global Islamic finance industry is now worth a cool $1.3 trillion and Sukuk (Islamic note) issuance shot up by 64 per cent to reach record levels of $138 billion 2012.
Such is its growing popularity that experts forecast this growth to continue at a rapid pace going forward, as demand for an alternative to conventional finance continues to garner interest and more and more financial institutions seek to keep pace with the needs of their Islamic client base.
Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's forecasts that Islamic finance will double in size between 2011 and 2015 as more individuals seek to assert a specific Islamic identity in crucial social activities. With Islam the fastest growing religion in the world and the second largest religious group in the UK, it is hardly surprising that Islamic finance is gaining traction fast.
There has been a realisation among both issuers and investors that the risk-reward balance in both conventional and Islamic finance is not that fundamentally different and that the Islamic model could prove complementary to the system that has dominated Western financial markets in recent years.
The majority of growth in Islamic finance has naturally been spearheaded by the Middle East and Asia but, as with most burgeoning industries, this rapid growth has prompted globalisation.

London's leading Islamic finance hub
We believe that the UK is already and will continue to play a pivotal role in advancing the growth of Islamic finance. Home to over two million Muslims and boasting a leading financial centre, the UK possesses all the hallmarks of great potential.
The Bank of England first highlighted the sector's potential back in 2000 and in March this year the government launched a campaign to promote London as a Western hub for Islamic finance, countering competition from the likes of Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. The government will seek to attract foreign investment to Britain by aiding Islamic financial business, including investment in British infrastructure by Islamic sovereign wealth funds.
Furthermore, the World Islamic Economic Forum, a conference of Islamic financiers, is set to take place in London this October, marking the first time the forum is held outside of Asia.
The UK prides itself on accessibility and flexibility which, combined with its size, Muslim population and leading global standing, inevitably offers a strong foundation for growth.
The UK's 22 banks offering Islamic finance products far exceeds that of any other Western country and many mainstream financial groups are recognising the need to service Muslim financial requirements as well those of many non-Muslim whose investment principles are aligned with the ethics promoted by Islamic law.
The UK has a proven record of nurturing budding industries and possesses a potent mix of expertise, financial and legal skills required to take advantage of Islamic finance.

The role of Financial Planning
But while many seeking Islamic finance are already well versed with products and terms such as riba (interest), sukuk and takaful (Islamic-compliant insurance) but there is altogether less known about the merits of Financial Planning.
Financial Planning is defined as a process which helps individuals achieve lifetime goals through the thorough management of finances. Islamic Financial Planning is helping individuals achieve their long-term goals in accordance to the principles of Islam and offering investments, tax planning, risk management, estate planning and retirement planning in a Shariah-compliant manner.
The difference between conventional Financial Planning and Islamic Financial Planning is that with the former, the property and assets held by someone are done so to meet the needs and wants of that individual. In Islamic Financial Planning, there must be a distribution of wealth not only to the individual's personal interests but to others.
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Islamic Financial Planning goes beyond the process of acquisition and accumulation of wealth and relates to the concept of Khalifa (being Allah's representative on Earth). Everything within the chain of what a Shariah-compliant individual does in connection with their wealth must be in accordance with the wishes of Allah.
That is why Financial Planning has such a crucial role to play because at its essence it is far more than just the use of products to get the individual from A to B. The beauty of Financial Planning lies in the ongoing process that adapts to a client's ever changing needs, circumstances and goals over time rather than take a "one size fits all" approach. It looks at the bigger picture, identifying dreams and creating targeted strategies that reflect those.
Clearly, while any investment product has to be Shariah-compliant, it is more important for the entire client customer experience to accord with the principles of Islamic investments and the end product.
Often, institutions are mistakenly under the impression that by merely using the correct products they have provided the client with an experience that is consistent with Islamic law, but Financial Planning goes much deeper and promotes the idea of helping individuals identify and achieve their long term goals.
As Islamic finance grows and evolves, there is a clear need for greater focus on the Financial Planning aspect and the need for institutions and Financial Planners to take a holistic approach to ensuring that clients enjoy a comprehensive Islamic wealth management process from start to finish.
At present, Islamic Financial Planning remains a somewhat neglected part of this profession, partly because of the complexities in identifying Shariah- compliant investment solutions and partly because of the lack of professional experience within the Financial Planning realm.
With many of the more obvious financial products unpermitted, Financial Planners face a challenge in knowing and understanding the right processes for their clients. They need to be able to demonstrate integrity and trust and offer a consistent Islamic process throughout.
In my opinion, product solutions can be redundant if one doesn't understand an individual's lifestyle objectives, attitude and long term goals. Although the main principles of Shariah-compliant investing are enshrined in Islamic law, they have to be applied.
Therefore, we see their net result as adopting and following highly ethical business standards and practices that result in socially responsible investing, applied against a moral values-based framework.
In future, we believe that as Islamic finance expands and the range of products on offer continues to broaden, there will be growing demand for Islamic Financial Planning as Muslims seek to enjoy an experience that has their beliefs and morals enshrined from start to finish.
Therefore, Islamic Financial Planning must make the transition from niche to mainstream and more qualified Financial Planners must be brought on and trained in this area.