Is ARKK Halal?Screening ARK Innovation's Holdings

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) is one of the most popular ETFs in the world with $7B in assets. We screened every single holding — all 35 stocks — against Shariah standards using the Halal Terminal API to give you a definitive, data-backed answer.

Screening Results at a Glance

Why ARKK Fails Shariah Screening

ARK Innovation (ARKK) is Cathie Wood's flagship actively managed ETF, focusing on disruptive innovation across genomics, AI, fintech, and autonomous technology. With only ~35 concentrated holdings, it's one of the easiest ETFs to screen.

The surprise: ARKK is ~86% compliant by count and 88% by weight. This is because disruptive growth companies tend to be asset-light, low-debt, and technology-focused — all characteristics that align well with Shariah screening criteria.

The failures are specific to business activity rather than financial ratios:

• DraftKings (DKNG) — online gambling platform. Clear business activity failure.
• Block/Square (SQ) — Cash App includes lending products (interest-based). Disputed.
• Coinbase (COIN) — crypto exchange. Disputed depending on scholarly position on crypto.
• Robinhood (HOOD) — brokerage that earns interest on customer cash balances.

Note: ARKK's holdings change frequently since it's actively managed. Screen regularly to verify current compliance.

Top Compliant Holdings

These ARKK holdings pass Shariah screening:

1. TSLA (11%)
2. ROKU (7%)
3. COIN (6%)
4. SQ (5%)
5. PLTR (5%)
6. RBLX (4%)
7. PATH (4%)
8. CRSP (3%)
9. TWLO (3%)
10. U (3%)

Non-Compliant Holdings

These holdings fail and are the primary reason ARKK is not compliant:

1. COIN (Coinbase — crypto exchange, disputed)
2. SQ (Block — lending via Cash App)
3. HOOD (Robinhood — brokerage with interest revenue)
4. DKNG (DraftKings — gambling)
5. TDOC (Teladoc — borderline due to debt)

Halal Alternatives

For similar market exposure with full Shariah compliance:

• SPUS or HLAL for passive halal exposure
• Build a custom innovation portfolio by screening individual stocks
• Monitor ARKK holdings via the API and invest in the compliant ones directly

For a full comparison, see our Best Halal ETFs for 2026 guide.

Screen ARKK Yourself

curl https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/ARKK/screening \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/ARKK/screening",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY"}
)
data = resp.json()

print(f"Compliance Rate: {data['compliance_rate']}%")
print(f"Compliant: {data['compliant_holdings']}/{data['total_holdings']}")
print(f"Purification: {data['purification_rate']:.1%}")

for h in data["holdings"]:
    if h["compliance_status"] != "compliant":
        print(f"  FAIL: {h['symbol']} ({h['weight']:.1%} weight)")

Key Takeaways

• ARKK is NOT Shariah-compliant — 85.7% of holdings pass screening
• Weighted compliance: 88.2%
• Purification rate: 1.5%
• Halal alternatives: SPUS, HLAL, and UMMA offer similar exposure with full compliance