Independent Research & Analysis
Independent equity research built on a clear ethical mandate — combining a low-cost halal ETF core with individually researched stocks, rigorous three-statement analysis, and Fama-French factor models to identify durable compounders.
Investment Philosophy
Every holding on this site exists within a deliberate three-layer architecture: an ethical screening foundation, a low-cost ETF core providing systematic beta, and a satellite layer of individual stocks targeting the profitability, size, and value factors.
The philosophy page explains the full seven-step process — from the first ethical screen to Fama-French regression validation — and why an idea can arrive from any direction, thematic or curiosity-led, yet must clear the same bar before it earns a place among the satellites.
Read the PhilosophyLayer 01 · Ethical Foundation
Four exclusion screens. Quantitative halal ratios. Applied at the business-model level — not the sector code.
Layer 02 · Core ETFs (65–70%)
Certified halal ETFs — five available to Canadian investors (SPUS, HLAL, MNZL, SPSK, WSHR). Each is already Shariah-screened by its provider. Low-cost, automatically rebalanced.
Layer 03 · Stock Satellites (30–35%)
The individual stocks I cover — 20 large-cap quality compounders (RMW+) and 12 small-cap value names (confirmed SMB+ size tilt). Each validated against primary filings. The alpha engine.
About
I am an independent researcher and investor focused on identifying high-quality, ethically-screened US and Canadian equities. My work sits at the intersection of fundamental analysis and quantitative factor research, organised around a single coherent framework: an ethical foundation, a core of certified halal ETFs, and a satellite layer of individual stocks I research and cover.
For the stocks I pick, my screening process explicitly excludes gambling, alcohol, weapons, banking, and any company that generates material revenue from lending or interest; the core ETFs satisfy the same standard by construction, since each is already a certified Shariah-compliant fund. Within that universe, I assess quality across all three financial statements — balance-sheet strength, income-statement durability, and cash-flow integrity — to separate genuine compounders from value traps.
Ideas reach the satellites from wherever they happen to come — a structural theme I am following, a company someone asks me to look into, or simple curiosity — and then earn their place against the same quality bar. The satellites span two complementary books: a large-cap quality book tilted toward the profitability factor (RMW), and a small-cap value book tilted toward size and value (SMB, HML). I apply the Fama-French five-factor model as an explanatory framework to verify each book's factor exposures align with its stated mandate.
Research
The strategic framework behind every holding on this site — a three-layer architecture (ethical screen, certified halal ETF core, individual-stock satellites) and the seven-step process every idea must clear, whatever direction it arrives from, from the first exclusion screen to Fama-French validation.
A quantitative comparison of the five Canada-available halal ETFs — SPUS, HLAL, MNZL, SPSK and the CAD-denominated WSHR — across annual returns, since-inception CAGR, drawdowns, concentration and cost, plus six model portfolios that each pair a different ETF core with the individual stock satellites.
A second book within the satellites, targeting the size (SMB) and value (HML) premia the large-cap book gives up. Screened halal, filtered through a strict debt/equity < 30% balance-sheet rule, and assessed with deep three-statement quality analysis grounded in the CFA curriculum.
The headline conclusions from the small-cap value screen — seven findings on factor loadings, the complementarity with the large-cap book, verified metrics on the twelve holdings, and an honest account of what the regression can and cannot prove.
Five structural forces — demographic ageing, robotics disruption, emerging-market wealth, urbanisation, and rising healthcare spending — converge on a single company that passes every screen. Includes an original KPI dashboard built from SEC 8-K filings, organic growth analysis, and a Mako robotics moat discussion.
Two quality compounders run through the seven-step satellite process — four exclusion screens, the quantitative halal ratios, and a dedicated five-year analysis of the balance sheet, cash flow, and income statement. Both pass the ethics; the financials, and an insignificant RMW loading, decide where they belong.
Key Findings
Portfolio-level regression across 83 monthly observations confirms the mandate's thesis — with a few important nuances.
RMW loading of +0.33 confirms the cash-flow thesis
The profitability factor is positive and meaningful — mathematical confirmation that the CFO screen is selecting for genuinely profitable companies, not just growing ones.
Portfolio R² of 0.87 — returns are factor-explained
87% of monthly return variance is explained by the five factors. No statistically significant alpha means returns come from factor premia, not luck or stock-picking. This is the expected, honest outcome.
Deliberate trade-off: quality over size and value
SMB –0.12 and HML –0.05 confirm this is a large-cap, near-growth portfolio. It gives up the size and value premia in exchange for quality — a defensible but explicit trade-off.
P&G and J&J are the weakest mandate fits
Both pass every ethical screen but CFO CAGRs of 0.5% and 0.8% respectively are functionally flat. High RMW factor loadings save them on profitability but growth is absent.
Portfolio Factor Loadings
Framework
Two exclusion screens applied before any financial analysis, followed by a three-part quality assessment across the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement — then validated by the Fama-French five-factor model. The same framework drives both books of satellites: the large-cap quality book leads with cash-flow quality, while the small-cap value book leads with balance-sheet strength (debt/equity below 30%). The lending screen does more work than it appears, removing captive-finance arms, insurers, and hidden lending operations inside otherwise-clean names.
Excludes gambling, alcohol, war and ammunition. Applied at the business-model level — is this a primary activity, not a trace exposure.
Excludes banks, captive-finance arms (Caterpillar, Deere, Ford), insurers, Shopify Capital, PC Financial. Incidental interest on corporate cash is not excluded.
Requires high operating cash flow with a track record of organic growth. Serial acquirers (Constellation Software, Couche-Tard) fail even if ethics screens pass. Source: SEC EDGAR / SEDAR+.
Screens for financial strength and capital discipline — low financial leverage, strong interest coverage, conservative debt maturity profiles, and minimal off-balance-sheet exposure. Favours asset-light models with durable equity bases.
Examines revenue quality, margin durability, and earnings consistency. Prefers recurring-revenue and subscription models over transactional. Scrutinises non-GAAP adjustments and flags companies where reported earnings persistently diverge from operating cash flow.
Fama-French 5-factor OLS regression tests whether each book's factor exposures align with its mandate. The large-cap book shows a positive RMW (profitability) loading; the small-cap book shows a significant positive SMB (size) loading, with a weaker value tilt. Uses Kenneth French Data Library (Dartmouth).
Contact
Interested in the research, the methodology, or collaborating on a project? I'd welcome the conversation.