I was looking to start a DAF and saw that many people recommended the Fidelity route. Could anyone clarify how I would be able to invest in a halal way through Fidelity or Charityvest? I didn’t really find options for halal funds. Does anyone have experience with Azzad’s DAF?
Thank you all very much
Wassalamu Alaikum,
Uzer
Asalamu alaikum,
There’s no fully halal investments in any of these mainstream DAFs including Fidelity which I use.
Instead of investing there, I just immediately donate from my core position which is set to money market, so it doesn’t get a chance to remain invested. I make the intention of donating Zakat in advance, also donation notes can let you specify that for the receiving charity.
If you use a DAF this way, just as a convenience of converting stock to cash to donate immediately, then Fidelity works very well to do this all through their website. You won’t pay any fees if you don’t leave investments sitting in there.
I heard of Azzad DAF but their funds tend to be higher on fees and I expect their DAF has added fees over that. ETFs like SPUS have lower fees and little taxable distributions, so I don’t see the benefit of keeping such investments in the DAF vs leaving it in your control till ready to donate.
Jazzak Allahu khair
This is brilliant and I’m just a little disappointed that none of the professionals I spoke to about DAFs mentioned this.
I guess the major disadvantage here is if I needed to donate a windfall (to decrease tax bracket)(which I won’t be doing) or if I was contributing monthly (which I am).
For things like automatic orphan support and monthly donations this wouldn’t work out without extensive micromanagement correct?