Investing in Unit Trust.
Q. My questions concerns working and investing in the Unit Trust. I am an employee of that firm. Are there chances of my earning being haraam?
I read the article on investing in the UTC. However, I have researched the companies in which investments are made. However, for the purposes of discretion of business trade, not all the companies are disclosed to me nor the public. A list of companies in which investments are made can be obtained in the UTC prospectus (available at its branches). Investments are made on local and international stock markets which include firms such as Carib Brewery. The UTC do not invest in casinos or any other firm that conducts business of such nature due to its core values, legislation of the Central Bank Act and laws of T&T. In light of this info, is investing in UTC haraam?
A. Before giving an opinion regarding UTC, I communicated with one of the officers. It was clear to me that UTC invests in many companies which may be termed as ‘halal’ to Muslims.
However, at the same time, the UTC also invests in other companies that are known to be unlawful for Muslims (to participate in). The officer also made it clear that it is very difficult to tell a client where his/her monies are invested and it is also difficult to grant the assurance to a Muslim that his/her monies would be invested in only ‘halal’ products or companies.
This situation brings about a certain amount of doubt and a Muslim must refrain from investing in this organization.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Waseem Khan