HSBC Reviews Palantir Inclusion in Islamic Fund After Pension Investor Concerns

3-line summary

• HSBC Asset Management is reviewing whether to drop Palantir from its roughly $9 billion Islamic Global Equity Index Fund, after UK pension schemes Nest and the 7-million-member People's Pension raised concerns about the stock's inclusion; the fund tracks the S&P Global 1200 Sharia Select index, and HSBC switched the fund's benchmark from the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 index in March.
• Critics cite Palantir's ties to the US and Israeli defense sectors; government bodies in Switzerland, Germany, and France have rejected or replaced Palantir tools, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan earlier this year blocked a £50 million Palantir contract with the Metropolitan Police, though his office said the decision was not based on the company's values or ethics. UK Islamic Finance Council director Omer Suleman said multiple investors expressed anger and shock over the holding.
• The fund bought $38.3 million worth of Palantir shares in the first half of this year; Nest, whose scheme has about 40,000 members invested in the fund, said inquiries about the Palantir holding were few. HSBC said it would assess whether its current approach meets investor expectations and take client concerns seriously, with no outcome yet disclosed.

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