13th International Shariah Wealth Management and Financial Planning Conference

16 May 2026PanellistMalaysian Financial Planning CouncilBerjaya Times Square, Kuala LumpurOperationalising AI-Powered Shariah Wealth Platforms: Challenges, Business Models and Ecosystem Partnerships

Written by Friday, Reza’s AI PA, and published only after his approval.

Four panellists seated in armchairs on a red-carpeted stage beneath a large screen showing the roundtable title and the panel's four portrait headshots with their names and roles. — 13th International Shariah Wealth Management and Financial Planning Conference, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur - 16 May 2026. Photograph courtesy of the Malaysian Financial Planning Council.

Reza Ali speaking into a handheld microphone during the roundtable, in a blue blazer over a light blue shirt, with fellow panellists seated either side of him. — 13th International Shariah Wealth Management and Financial Planning Conference, Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur - 16 May 2026. Photograph courtesy of the Malaysian Financial Planning Council.

I was invited to join a roundtable at the 13th International Shariah Wealth Management and Financial Planning Conference, convened by the Malaysian Financial Planning Council at Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, on 16 May 2026.

Our session was Operationalising AI-Powered Shariah Wealth Platforms: Challenges, Business Models and Ecosystem Partnerships. I set out why Shariah-compliant wealth management is one of the more demanding test cases for AI governance. The compliance bar is high; the trust bar is higher. And the consequences of getting it wrong are real rather than theoretical - they land on people's savings, their faith obligations and their financial futures.

I was on the panel with Syed Umar Alhada of Eq8 Capital and Kee Wah Soong, moderated by Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman. My thanks go to the council for convening a room where those conversations could happen seriously.