For much of 2010, I have remained a silent observer in the evolving landscape of Islamic Finance in Canada. There is little doubt the movement has gained significant momentum this year, both in terms of infrastructure-building as well as financial engineering.

Despite the termination of the frontierAlt Oasis Canada Fund in April (one of only two managed Shariah-compliant equity mutual funds in Canada), Islamic Finance continues to attract interest from financial institutions who are not only looking to diversify their product offerings and tap into new customers, but also to shape the direction of the conversation.

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As interest and opportunities in the world of Islamic finance continue to grow, business schools worldwide are duking it out to educate students on structuring Islamic investments. 

The inherent conservatism contained within Islamic portfolios is becoming less of a deterrent as the potential for returns is nearing that of conventional portfolios.

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Having developed a keen interest in Islamic Finance while I was at the Cass Business School in the UK, I returned to Toronto only to be disappointed with the lack of activity in this area. Given that Toronto is the third-largest financial services centre in North America and that Canada has a larger Muslim population as a share of the total population than any of its North American counterparts, I was surprised to see that more was not being done to position ourselves as a Western hub for attracting Islamic investments.

In my quest to learn more about the industry here, I stumbled upon the work being done within the Social Finance sector, and I could not help but notice parallels between the two. So what's the connection between Social Finance and Islamic Finance?

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