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Is your halal pension buying Palantir?

HSBC markets its Islamic index fund as Sharia-compliant, and most UK workplace pensions with a Sharia option invest in it. In the first half of 2026 the fund bought more than $100 million of shares in five companies linked to the Israeli military, whose missiles, tanks and software have been used against Palestinians in Gaza.

What you can do

Campaign updates

  1. HSBC reviews Palantir's place in the fund

    Nest and People's Pension, two major UK workplace pension schemes, questioned Palantir's presence in the fund, and HSBC said it would assess whether its approach meets investors' expectations, the Financial Times reported. Nest has around 40,000 members invested in the fund. HSBC has announced no decision and no date. Keep writing: a review is not a sale.

    Financial Times, via Investing.com, 20 October 2026

What the HSBC fund bought

The HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund is worth more than $8 billion. It is an index fund: it buys the shares in a list of companies screened for Sharia compliance, and a committee of two Islamic scholars certifies it every year. Its semi-annual report shows these purchases between January and June 2026, as analysed by Hyphen and Middle East Eye.

The list comes from S&P. Both indices the fund has followed this year are made by S&P Dow Jones Indices and screened for Sharia compliance by the same contractor. Until 20 March 2026 the fund tracked the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100, an index of 100 companies, whose screens exclude companies that make or supply weapons and systems "deployed for purposes other than defense, including spyware and offensive components and systems". From 23 March HSBC switched it to the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index, which keeps the companies in S&P's global index of about 1,200 of the world's largest firms that pass a Shariah screen, reviewed every month. That screen has no weapons exclusion at all. The fund now holds more than 500 companies. HSBC chose this index, and HSBC can change it again.

Shares bought by the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, January to June 2026
Company Bought
Palantir

Agreed in January 2024 to supply Israel's Ministry of Defense with technology for "war-related missions"

 $38.3m
RTX (Raytheon)

A significant supplier of missiles to the Israeli military, according to Campaign Against Arms Trade

 $35.7m
Analog Devices

Has sent components to Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons manufacturer

 $20.3m
Honeywell

Made a guidance unit found in a missile that attacked a school in Gaza in June 2024, killing at least 40 Palestinians, 14 of them children, according to Al Jazeera

 $18.9m
Rolls-Royce

Its engines power the Merkava tanks Israel has used in Gaza, according to the Israeli research centre Who Profits

 $17.6m
Total $130.8m

The fund also holds 386,784 BAE Systems shares, worth about $9.4m. At 30 June 2026 the fund held 295,115 Palantir shares worth $34.43m. HSBC did not respond to either publication.

Why this matters

The UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed there, at least 21,000 of them children, according to Palestinian health authorities. Every company in the table is linked to the Israeli military that carried out those killings. RTX supplies it with missiles; Rolls-Royce engines power its Merkava tanks; a Honeywell guidance unit was found, Al Jazeera reported, in a missile that killed at least 40 Palestinians at a Gaza school in June 2024; and Palantir agreed to provide it with technology for "war-related missions".

Muslim savers choose a Sharia option so that their money stays out of harm. Three Sharia screening apps, applying the standards of AAOIFI (the international standard-setter for Islamic finance), rate Palantir questionable, doubtful or not compliant. HSBC's fund bought it anyway, because it follows S&P's index, and the fund's own report says the Shariah committee has no influence over individual investment decisions. The fund sold its Honeywell shares in 2024 and bought them back in 2026.

Who is invested

Most UK workplace pensions with a Sharia option invest in this fund, according to Hyphen and Middle East Eye. Hyphen names schemes run by Aegon, Aviva and Fidelity, and the Financial Times reports that Nest, with around 40,000 members in the fund, and People's Pension have raised Palantir with HSBC. If you picked a Sharia, Islamic or halal fund in your workplace pension, you are probably invested. Your pension app or annual statement names your fund; its factsheet names the fund it invests in.

Start with pressure, before opting out. Your letter carries more weight as a member of the scheme, and the aim is to make the HSBC fund sell these holdings. If you do decide to leave, bear in mind that your employer stops paying in when you opt out. This is general information, not financial advice.

Take Action

  1. Check your fund. Find your Sharia option's factsheet and see whether it invests in the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund.
  2. Write to your pension provider with the letter below. Ask it to tell you what you hold, to raise the holdings with HSBC, and to offer a Sharia option that excludes companies supplying the Israeli military. Ask it to pass your letter to its governance committee or trustees, who review the fund range on members' behalf.
  3. Tell your employer. Your employer chose the scheme. Send HR a copy of your letter and ask it to raise the fund with the provider at its next review. Ask colleagues in the same fund to sign.
  4. Take it to your mosque, Islamic society or scholar. Ask them to write to HSBC's Shariah Committee for a ruling on these holdings before it next certifies the fund. A question from a congregation carries weight a single saver's does not.
  5. Write to HSBC. Use the letter below, or our letter tool to write to HSBC's leadership.
  6. Ask S&P and its Shariah screeners to exclude weapons suppliers from the index HSBC tracks. An index committee of S&P Dow Jones Indices staff runs the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index. S&P has contracted Ratings Intelligence Partners (RI) to run its Shariah screens, working with RI's Shariah Supervisory Board, whose members RI's website lists as Dr Muhammad Ali El-Gari (chair), Dr Nazih Hammad and Dr Mohammad Amin Ali Qattan. The screens exclude alcohol, gambling, pork and tobacco, but not weapons, so companies such as those in the table pass them, though each is linked to the Israeli military that the UN Commission of Inquiry found is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. S&P can screen weapons out: its Dow Jones Islamic indices, screened by the same firm, exclude weapons and spyware deployed for purposes other than defence, and it publishes an S&P 500 Shariah index without aerospace and defence companies. Ask it to exclude every company supplying weapons, military technology or surveillance to the Israeli military. Use the third letter below.

Outside the UK, ask your own pension provider, bank or adviser whether it uses this fund or another HSBC Islamic fund.

Letter 1: to your pension provider

Subject: My Sharia pension fund and HSBC's Islamic Global Equity Index Fund

Dear [provider name],

I am a member of [scheme name], with my savings in the [Sharia fund name] option. My member number is [number].

Please tell me whether this option invests in the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, and whether my savings therefore hold shares in Palantir, RTX, Analog Devices, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce or BAE Systems.

Hyphen (13 October 2026) and Middle East Eye (14 October 2026) report that the HSBC fund bought more than $100 million of shares in five companies linked to the Israeli military in the first half of 2026, including $38.3 million of Palantir, which agreed in January 2024 to supply Israel's Ministry of Defense with technology for "war-related missions". The UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

I chose a Sharia option so that my savings would not fund harm. I ask you to:

1. raise these holdings with HSBC Asset Management and with the fund's Shariah Committee, and tell me their answer;
2. offer a Sharia-compliant option that excludes companies supplying the Israeli military, and tell me when it will be available;
3. pass this letter to your Independent Governance Committee or the scheme's trustees.

I would be grateful for a reply within 28 days.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]

Letter 2: to HSBC and its Shariah Committee

To: sustainability@hsbc.com

Subject: Palantir and arms holdings in the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund

Dear HSBC Asset Management, and the members of the fund's Shariah Committee,

I am writing as [a member of a workplace pension invested in your fund / an imam / a member of (mosque or Islamic society)].

Your semi-annual report shows that the HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund bought $38.3 million of Palantir shares in the first half of 2026, and more than $100 million in total of Palantir, RTX, Analog Devices, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce. Each is linked to the Israeli military, which the UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 to be committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Three Sharia screening apps applying AAOIFI standards rate Palantir questionable, doubtful or not compliant.

Your fund is marketed as Sharia-compliant, and most UK workplace pensions with a Sharia option invest in it. I ask you to:

1. publish the Shariah Committee's view on whether these holdings are compatible with the fund's Sharia mandate;
2. exclude companies that supply weapons, military technology or surveillance to the Israeli military, by applying a screen on top of the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index it tracks, asking S&P for a version of the index that has one, or moving to an index that has one;
3. publish the fund's full holdings every quarter.

Please confirm that you have passed this letter to the Shariah Committee, and reply within 28 days.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]

Letter 3: to S&P and its Shariah screeners

To: index_services@spglobal.com, research@ratingsintelligence.com

Subject: Weapons suppliers in the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index

Dear S&P Dow Jones Indices Index Committee, Ratings Intelligence Partners, and the members of the Shariah Supervisory Board,

I am writing as [a Muslim saver whose workplace pension tracks your index / an imam / a member of (mosque or Islamic society)].

The HSBC Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, which most UK workplace pensions with a Sharia option invest in, tracks your indices: the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 until March 2026, and the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index since. Its semi-annual report shows that in the first half of 2026 it bought more than $100 million of shares in Palantir, RTX, Analog Devices, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce. Each is linked to the Israeli military, which the UN Commission of Inquiry found in September 2025 to be committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. A Honeywell guidance unit was found, Al Jazeera reported, in a missile that killed at least 40 Palestinians, 14 of them children, at a Gaza school in June 2024.

The screens for your Dow Jones Islamic indices exclude weapons and systems deployed for purposes other than defence, including spyware, and your methodology notes that most Shariah boards have advised against investing in the defence industry. The screens for the S&P Shariah indices have no weapons exclusion at all. Muslim savers choose Shariah indices so that their money does no harm. I ask:

1. the Shariah Supervisory Board to rule on whether supplying weapons, military technology or surveillance to the Israeli military is compatible with a Shariah index, and to publish the ruling;
2. S&P to add a screen to the S&P Shariah indices that excludes companies supplying weapons, military technology or surveillance to the Israeli military, and to publish a timetable for it, including any consultation its methodology requires;
3. S&P, meanwhile, to publish a version of the S&P Global 1200 Shariah Select Index without aerospace and defence companies, as it already does for the S&P 500 Shariah.

Please reply within 28 days.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]

What they have said

It is a complete affront to Islamic finance practices that the fund holds shares in a company that has actively aided the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] in killing many innocent Palestinian civilians, including children.

Afzal Khan MP Vice-chair, all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims Hyphen

What we are asking HSBC to do

  • Exclude from the fund every company that supplies weapons, military technology or surveillance to the Israeli military.
  • Announce the outcome of its review of Palantir's place in the fund, and when it will decide.
  • Publish the Shariah Committee's ruling on the current holdings.
  • Publish the fund's full holdings every quarter, so savers can check without waiting for a journalist.
  • Extend HSBC's Defence Equipment Policy, which already bans lending to weapons manufacturers, to the funds HSBC manages.

Sources

Company profiles

Profile

HSBC

Its Israeli lending, its arms holdings and the gap in its defence policy

 Profile

RTX (Raytheon)

The engines in Israel's fighter jets, and Iron Dome interceptors built with Rafael

 Profile

BAE Systems

Britain's largest arms maker, building part of every F-35 Israel flies

 Profile

Palantir

Its partnership with Israel's Ministry of Defense, and the contracts that can be ended