2025 was a strange year for faith-based ETFs. The AI-driven tech rally continued, which favored funds with heavy tech exposure. But it also created dispersion: funds with strict exclusions on certain tech names lagged, while funds that happened to hold the right names outperformed their peers.

Here's a full ranking of the ten best-performing faith-based ETFs of 2025, with context on what drove each fund's results and whether the performance is sustainable.

Before we get into it, one note: these are estimated total returns based on how the underlying indexes tracked through 2025, including dividend reinvestment. Actual reported numbers may differ slightly.

1. SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF (SPUS)

2025 Total Return: approximately 27 to 30 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.49 percent
AUM: approximately 1.4 billion dollars

SPUS was the biggest winner among faith-based ETFs in 2025, mostly because of what it doesn't hold (financials) and what it does hold (lots of tech). The fund's 45-plus percent weighting in technology captured the AI rally directly. Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta together account for roughly 40 percent of the fund, and all five had a strong year.

The fund is up meaningfully on the S&P 500 for the full year because of the tech overweight. Whether this continues depends on whether tech leadership persists.

2. Almalia Sanlam Active Shariah Global Equity ETF (AMAL)

2025 Total Return: approximately 26 to 29 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.99 percent
AUM: approximately 75 to 100 million dollars

Active management actually paid off for Almalia in 2025. The team's quality-growth approach captured upside from concentrated positions in Microsoft, ASML, Alphabet, Nvidia (where held), Novo Nordisk, and similar compounders. The high expense ratio is still a drag over long periods, but in a year like 2025, stock selection overcame the fee.

This is only available to UCITS investors (not US retail), but it's worth noting for European and Gulf halal investors who track the space.

3. Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (HLAL)

2025 Total Return: approximately 26 to 28 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.50 percent
AUM: approximately 750 million dollars

HLAL's performance tracked SPUS closely because both funds hold the same core mega-cap tech names. The FTSE methodology differs slightly from S&P DJI, which produced some small dispersion between the two funds, but in 2025 they both benefited from the same underlying drivers.

HLAL's 10 percent cap on individual holdings actually trimmed some exposure to Apple and Microsoft compared to SPUS, which slightly reduced upside. Not enough to matter meaningfully for most investors.

4. iShares MSCI World Islamic UCITS ETF (ISDW)

2025 Total Return: approximately 24 to 27 percent in USD
Expense Ratio: 0.30 percent
AUM: approximately 650 to 750 million dollars

ISDW had a solid 2025 driven by its large US weight (about 60 percent) and its broader global halal exposure. International markets didn't match US tech returns, so the global blend dragged slightly, but the low expense ratio and broad diversification made ISDW one of the cleaner long-term compounders in the category.

Another UCITS product, so US investors can't access it directly.

5. Eventide Healthcare and Life Sciences ETF (ETHLT proxy via ETLAX)

2025 Total Return: approximately 24 to 26 percent
Expense Ratio: 1.40 percent
AUM: approximately 800 to 900 million dollars

Eventide's healthcare sector fund benefited from a strong year for biotech and medical device stocks. Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Vertex, ResMed, and similar names contributed meaningfully. The high expense ratio is always a drag, but in a year when the sector delivered, the fund delivered too.

This is structured as a mutual fund (not a true ETF), but I'm including it because it's often compared alongside faith-based ETFs in retirement account context.

6. Inspire Faithward Mid Cap Momentum ETF (GLRY)

2025 Total Return: approximately 23 to 25 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.85 percent
AUM: approximately 60 to 90 million dollars

GLRY uses a momentum-based approach on mid-cap stocks that pass Inspire Impact scoring. Mid caps had a respectable year, and momentum as a factor worked in 2025. The small AUM is a concern for liquidity, but the performance was solid.

7. SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF (SPRE)

2025 Total Return: approximately 22 to 25 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.69 percent
AUM: approximately 90 to 120 million dollars

SPRE tracks Shariah-compliant global REITs. Real estate had a volatile 2025 but ultimately finished well as rates stabilized. The fund holds data center REITs (which benefit from AI infrastructure buildout) and other halal-eligible property categories. The tech-adjacent real estate exposure helped performance.

Halal REIT investing is tricky because most conventional REITs fail Shariah screens due to use or tenant composition. SPRE's narrower universe still produced strong returns in 2025.

8. Inspire 100 ETF (BIBL)

2025 Total Return: approximately 15 to 19 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.35 percent
AUM: approximately 400 million dollars

BIBL lagged the mega-cap-heavy funds significantly because its equal-weight structure and exclusions of many big tech names meant it couldn't participate in the AI rally. The fund still delivered respectable returns but meaningfully underperformed tech-heavy alternatives.

This is the cost of conviction for BRI investors. When tech leads, BIBL lags. When value or quality leads, BIBL can outperform.

9. SPDR Bloomberg SASB Catholic Values ETF (CATH)

2025 Total Return: approximately 23 to 26 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.29 percent
AUM: approximately 1 billion dollars

CATH had a strong year because its screening is narrow enough that most S&P 500 performance translates through. The fund holds most big tech names (they pass Catholic screens) and the exclusions (defense contractors, certain healthcare) were less of a drag in 2025 than they've been in other years.

Low cost, broad exposure, and minimal tracking error make CATH one of the best-positioned funds in the faith-based category for steady long-term performance.

10. Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF (UMMA)

2025 Total Return: approximately 15 to 19 percent
Expense Ratio: 0.65 percent
AUM: approximately 175 million dollars

UMMA's ex-US international exposure meant it couldn't capture US tech gains directly. International markets had a decent year but lagged the US. The fund's exposure to Novo Nordisk, ASML, Taiwan Semiconductor, and other international quality names contributed positively but not enough to match US-focused funds.

For investors who want international halal exposure, UMMA did its job in 2025. It just couldn't compete with US-only funds on absolute returns.

Notable Funds That Didn't Make Top 10

Inspire Corporate Bond ETF (IBD): Bonds had a meh year, returning approximately 4 to 7 percent. Not top 10 material for equity-focused rankings but solid for a fixed income allocation.

Timothy Plan ETFs: Returns in the 14 to 20 percent range for most Timothy Plan ETFs. Decent but not standout.

Praxis Growth Fund: Return approximately 20 to 23 percent. Solid and reasonably priced, but not one of the absolute top performers.

Ave Maria Growth Fund: Not an ETF (mutual fund), but performance was in the 18 to 22 percent range for 2025.

SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF (SPSK): Sukuk returns for 2025 approximately 3 to 5 percent. Fixed income category, not equity.

Patterns That Emerged in 2025

Pattern 1: Tech exposure drove everything. The biggest winners all held mega-cap tech. SPUS, HLAL, ISDW, CATH, and AMAL all had meaningful tech weights and all outperformed more strictly screened alternatives.

Pattern 2: Equal weighting underperformed. Funds like BIBL that equal-weight their holdings couldn't participate fully in the tech rally. Market-cap weighting with tech heavy exposure was the winning approach.

Pattern 3: Narrow screening beat strict screening. Funds with narrower exclusion lists (CATH, SPUS) outperformed funds with broader exclusion lists (BIBL, Timothy Plan funds). When mega-cap tech rips, excluding mega-cap tech hurts.

Pattern 4: Active stock picking actually worked for some. Eventide, Almalia, and a few other active managers delivered real alpha in 2025. Whether this continues is the eternal active-vs-passive question.

What This Means for 2026 and Beyond

The 2025 rankings are historical. Relying on past performance to pick future winners is a mistake. Some observations worth keeping in mind:

Tech leadership may not continue forever. Value, small cap, or international could lead next.
Funds that have lagged in 2025 may outperform in different market environments.
Long-term performance depends more on fees, diversification, and consistency than on any single year's ranking.
Faith-based screening will always create some tracking error to broader markets. Sometimes that helps, sometimes it hurts.

Building a Portfolio from the Top 10

If you were building a faith-based portfolio using only the 2025 top performers, you'd overweight US tech-heavy exposure. That might work in 2026, or it might not. A more sensible approach is to build around your specific faith framework:

For Muslim investors: SPUS or HLAL as US core, ISDW or UMMA for international, a sukuk fund for fixed income. Add SPRE for real estate if wanted.

For Catholic investors: CATH as core US, a screened international fund or ESG alternative, IBD or a Catholic bond fund for fixed income.

For evangelical Christian investors: BIBL for equity core, IBD for bonds, Inspire family for specialty allocations. Accept that BIBL's performance will vary from S&P 500 significantly year to year.

The Honest Takeaway

2025 was a year when faith-based investors who happened to be positioned in tech-heavy strategies did very well. Those who held more strictly screened or equal-weighted funds had a reasonable but less impressive year. Neither group should change their approach based on one year of results.

The best faith-based ETFs long term are the ones you can hold through multiple market cycles without panic selling. That usually means funds with moderate fees, broad diversification, established track records, and screening methodologies you actually understand and agree with. Chase top performance year by year and you'll always be buying the recent winner and missing the next one.

Pick your framework, pick your funds, and let them compound.

Top 10 Best-Performing Faith-Based ETFs of 2025