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This study aims to explore the strategic integration of Sharia-compliant and environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused investments within global equity portfolio optimization frameworks, with a particular emphasis on variance minimization and dynamic rebalancing techniques.

The research uses historical data from Sharia-compliant, ESG-focused and conventional equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Advanced mean-variance optimization methodologies via quadratic programming are employed, encompassing static optimization with and without a 50% cap on individual asset weights, dynamic optimization with monthly rebalancing and rolling window optimization.

Portfolios integrating Sharia-compliant investments frequently outperform those composed solely of conventional equity ETFs. Dynamic optimization with monthly rebalancing achieved the highest Sharpe ratio (1.3708) and demonstrated enhanced portfolio resilience during market turbulence, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharia-compliant investments showed substantial allocations during key periods, with weights reaching up to 100% in the first half of 2020. In contrast, ESG-focused investments exhibited more limited and sporadic allocations, reflecting a more opportunistic role in the portfolio.

The findings reaffirm the critical role of Sharia-compliant investments in well-diversified, risk-conscious portfolios while also providing nuanced insights into the more selective integration of ESG-focused assets. The results offer practical guidance for portfolio managers seeking to integrate ethical and sustainable investment principles within advanced portfolio optimization frameworks, particularly when focusing on minimizing variance and dynamically responding to evolving market conditions.

The study contributes to the growing body of literature on ethical and sustainable investments, demonstrating that it is possible to balance ethical considerations with robust financial performance. The research underscores the potential for Sharia-compliant investments to play a significant role in global portfolios, potentially fostering greater financial inclusion and cross-cultural understanding in the investment community.

This research provides novel insights by focusing on Sharia-compliant investments within non-Muslim countries, an area that has been relatively underexplored. It also compares the outcomes of static, dynamic and rolling optimizations, highlighting the dynamic interplay between ethical investment principles and financial performance.

This study aims to comprehensively examine sustainable mutual funds (SMFs) research by conducting a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of articles spanning 33 years from 1991 to 2023. This review seeks to uncover the principal contributors and the structural framework of knowledge within the realm of business, finance and management research concerning SMFs.

Following the “Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR)” methodology, the author selected 597 documents for the analysis and collected the bibliographic information from the Scopus database. The author uses RStudio and VOSviewer software to address five research questions.

The findings indicate a notable expansion in research concerning SMFs within high-quality journals over the last 33 years. The review illuminates the principal contributors in SMFs research by using performance analysis based on journal, article, author, country and institution criteria. By using science mapping techniques, the author identifies five prevailing themes and outlines future research prospects in the domain of SMFs.

This review paper can serve as a roadmap for future researchers, aiding them in discerning the trending research topics within this domain.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that comprehensively provides an overview of different variants, diverse strands and research hotspots of SMFs literature. The study offers insight into the evolution of SMFs, showcasing their progression from a segmented market to a prominently specialized domain in the contemporary landscape.

This paper aims to examine the different types of communication mechanisms in motivating the use of halal-based apps among Brunei Muslim students in higher education institutions abroad.

Using a convenience sampling procedure, 100 online structured questionnaires were accumulated from various higher education institutions abroad with a 60% response rate from Brunei Muslim students. Descriptive analysis, Binomial Logit and the Binomial Probit model were used to test different types of communication mechanisms in motivating the use of halal-based apps among Brunei Muslim students studying abroad. Demographic profiling such as gender, age, university programs and length of the program was also considered in the study.

Based on the statistical analyses, the word-of-mouth (WOM) mechanism is significant and more effective in influencing halal-based app usage among Muslim students abroad. Moreover, halal-based app usage with the combination of WOM mechanism and social media platform play a vital role in spreading halal awareness.

The sample was taken from random higher educational institutions abroad and respondents were selected using convenience sampling. Therefore, it may not be fully representative of the population of Brunei Muslim university students studying abroad. Second, there may also be missing variables that have not been considered in the study.

This study generates important insights from Muslim consumers on halal-based app usage. Stakeholders can integrate halal-based apps with digital word-of-mouth and social media interfaces to promote halal awareness and halal-based app usage effectively.

This research adds to the current limited knowledge of halal-based app usage among Brunei Muslim university students abroad.

This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the return and volatility spillover structures between Bitcoin, Fintech stocks and Asian-Pacific equity markets over time and during different market conditions, and their implications for portfolio management.

We use Time-varying parameter vector autoregressive and quantile frequency connectedness approach models for the connectedness framework, in conjunction with Diebold and Yilmaz’s connectivity approach. Additionally, we use the minimum connectedness portfolio model to highlight implications for portfolio management.

Regarding the uncertainty of the whole system, we show a small contribution from Bitcoin and Fintech, with a higher contribution from the four Asian Tigers (Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand). The quantile and frequency analyses also demonstrate that the link among assets is symmetric, with short-term spillovers having the largest influence. Finally, Bitcoins and Fintech stocks are excellent diversification and hedging instruments for Asian equity investors.

There is an instantaneous, symmetric and dynamic return and volatility spillover between Asian stock markets, Fintech and Bitcoin. This conclusion should be considered by investors and portfolio managers when creating risk diversification strategies, as well as by policymakers when implementing their financial stability policies.

The study’s major contribution is to analyze the volatility spillover between Bitcoin, Fintech and Asian stock markets, which is dynamic, symmetric and immediate.