Ten years of managing the Old Mutual Global Islamic Equity Fund has offered more than performance insight; it has sharpened conviction about how disciplined, values-based investing behaves across cycles and provided us a number of learnings along the way. Over this period, global markets have been anything but stable: shifting monetary regimes, geopolitical shocks, technological disruption, and evolving investor expectations have all tested assumptions.

Yet through it all, one principle has remained constant: a structured Shari’ah-compliant investment process, combined with rigorous global equity research, does not constrain opportunity – it clarifies it. And nothing reinforces this truth more than the consistent top quartile performance that the Fund has yielded over the past decade.

With the benefit of hindsight, and our proven investment approach, ten lessons stand out from a decade of investing through this lens. Each lesson is shaped by real market cycles, tested through periods of uncertainty, and refined by a disciplined adherence to Shari’ah principles. Together, they reflect not only how the strategy has navigated complexity, but why a structured, values-based approach has remained resilient.

Lesson 1: Discipline drives performance

Ten years of experience and top quartile performance have reinforced a simple truth: discipline compounds. A rigorous Shari’ah investment process, paired with deep global equity research, has enabled consistency through cycles. Shari’ah-compliance, together with factor research are not limitations – they provide a framework that sharpens clarity, focus, and conviction.

Lesson 2: Values strengthen strategy

Shari’ah principles do not restrict performance; they enhance it. Over the decade, a values-based approach has naturally guided the portfolio away from excess leverage and speculation, and toward resilient real-economy businesses. Combined with the exclusion of non-permissible sectors based on Shari’ah principles, this approach has built integrity that has also proven to be strategic.

Lesson 3: Quality wins over cycles

Markets evolve, but quality endures. Companies with strong balance sheets, sustainable cash flows, and transparent governance have consistently demonstrated resilience. These characteristics – central to Shari’ah screening – remain among the most reliable drivers of long-term returns.

Lesson 4: Diversification is the quiet performer

Diversification rarely draws attention, but its impact is profound. Accessing Shari’ah-compliant opportunities across geographies and sectors in a larger global universe has helped smooth volatility while preserving return potential. True diversification is not dramatic – it is durable.

Lesson 5: Systematic serves consistency

Markets often react to headlines, but performance is built on process. Over the past decade, a systematic, Shari’ah-aligned investment approach has ensured consistency in decision-making, regardless of market sentiment, while still incorporating active decisions. By applying clear rules and structured discipline, the strategy avoids reactive behaviour and remains anchored in long-term fundamentals – even when noise intensifies.

Lesson 6: Risk is a choice

Shari’ah-compliant screening inherently reduces exposure to excessive leverage and speculative activity. This has, over time, helped avoid unnecessary risks and align the portfolio with real economic value creation. However, portfolio construction constraints and overarching risk management are critical components protecting against volatility. In global markets, risk management is ultimately a question of design, not reaction.

Lesson 7: Long-term thinking wins

A decade of investing reinforces the same conclusion: patience performs. Shari’ah investing naturally encourages long-term thinking by prioritising real-economy businesses and ethical foundations, while our factor blends are tested over the long term to produce static style weights through time. In a world dominated by short-term signals, this long-term perspective becomes a meaningful advantage.

Lesson 8: Innovation Is everywhere

Innovation is not confined to one region or sector. Across developed markets, Shari’ah-compliant opportunities in technology, healthcare, and sustainability have expanded significantly. At the same time, innovation in a systematic process involves the evolution of a systematic strategy – discovering new metrics which are added to new style buckets or the removal of old signals which are no longer relevant. Both sources of innovation have been a consistent and growing driver of returns.

Lesson 9: Transparency builds trust

Shari’ah governance places transparency at its core, and investors respond to it. Clear processes, structured oversight, and consistent communication over the past decade have strengthened investor confidence and supported long-term relationships.

Lesson 10: Ethical investing provides an edge

Ultimately, the defining lesson of the past 10 years is this: ethical investing enhances rather than curtails performance. Aligning global investing with ethical, Shari’ah-compliant principles has delivered material outcomes through the uncovering of hidden opportunities – not only in financial terms, but through the integrity of the process behind them.

A decade of insights

A decade of managing the Old Mutual Global Islamic Equity Fund has reinforced that disciplined, values-driven investing is not a constraint on outcomes – it is often the reason they are sustained. In an increasingly complex global environment, clarity of process and conviction of purpose remain the most enduring advantages regardless of what kind of investor you are.