Is VGT Halal?Screening Vanguard's Tech ETF Holding by Holding

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) is one of the most popular ETFs in the world with $78B in assets. We screened every single holding — all 316 stocks — against Shariah standards using the Halal Terminal API to give you a definitive, data-backed answer.

Screening Results at a Glance

Why VGT Fails Shariah Screening

VGT is one of the most interesting ETFs for Shariah analysis because it's tantalizingly close to compliant. At 82% by holdings count and 85.3% by weight, the vast majority of its portfolio is halal — pure technology companies with low debt and no prohibited business activities.

The problem? VGT's definition of "Information Technology" includes payment processors and fintech companies: Visa (3.5% weight), Mastercard (2.8%), and several other financial technology firms. These companies derive significant revenue from interest-based transactions, payment processing fees tied to conventional credit products, or direct lending.

Why different screeners give different answers: Some screeners (like MuslimXchange) classify Visa as a technology company and mark it compliant. Others classify it as a financial services company and mark it non-compliant. The Halal Terminal API screens based on actual revenue sources, not just GICS sector classification — and Visa's revenue model is fundamentally tied to conventional financial services.

If VGT excluded just 6 stocks (Visa, Mastercard, FIS, Fiserv, GPN, PayPal), it would be essentially 100% compliant. This makes VGT a prime candidate for a "VGT minus fintech" custom portfolio strategy.

Top Compliant Holdings

These VGT holdings pass Shariah screening:

1. AAPL (19.5%)
2. MSFT (16.8%)
3. NVDA (14.2%)
4. AVGO (4.8%)
5. ADBE (1.8%)
6. CRM (1.7%)
7. AMD (1.5%)
8. ORCL (1.4%)
9. NOW (1.2%)
10. INTU (1.1%)

Non-Compliant Holdings

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

1. V (Visa — financial services, 3.5%)
2. MA (Mastercard — financial services, 2.8%)
3. FIS (Fidelity National — fintech)
4. FISV (Fiserv — fintech)
5. GPN (Global Payments — fintech)
6. PYPL (PayPal — fintech/lending)

Halal Alternatives

For similar market exposure with full Shariah compliance:

• SPTE (SP Funds S&P Kensho Halal Tech ETF)
• Custom portfolio: buy VGT's top holdings individually (AAPL, MSFT, NVDA, etc.) after screening each
• SPUS (broader, but tech-heavy at ~45%)

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

Screen VGT Yourself

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

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://api.halalterminal.com/api/etf/VGT/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

• VGT is NOT Shariah-compliant — 82.0% of holdings pass screening
• Weighted compliance: 85.3%
• Purification rate: 1.8%
• Halal alternatives: SPUS, HLAL, and UMMA offer similar exposure with full compliance