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RIYADH: ��������’s asset management industry is on track to surpass $400 billion by 2026, cementing the Kingdom’s position as the largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to a new report. 

Fitch Ratings said Islamic funds are expected to remain dominant, though the industry remains exposed to oil price sensitivity, as well as local, regional, and global market volatility and geopolitical risks. 

Despite market turbulence — with Tadawul’s equity market capitalization down around 13 percent year on year by the end of August — the sector continues to be supported by strong fundamentals. 

The growth reflects a broader regional trend, with total GCC assets rising 9 percent to $2.2 trillion by the end of 2024, according to a report released last month by Boston Consulting Group. 

Bashar Al-Natoor, global head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings, said: “��������’s AMI is on a steady growth path, supported by ongoing reforms and deeper local capital markets.” 

He added: “Shariah-compliant funds remain the majority, with product breadth widening across areas such as new IPOs, sukuk and bonds, ETFs and private credit.” 

Al-Natoor also noted that new initiatives, including voluntary pension and savings schemes, should enhance access and liquidity. 

“Although market volatility and oil-price sensitivity pose near-term risks, foreign participation is rising, and Saudi sukuk largely carry investment-grade ratings, supporting resilience.” 

Investor confidence is rising, with the Public Investment Fund forming strategic partnerships with global asset managers, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, representing roughly $12 billion in potential inflows. 

Fitch noted that international and regional institutions accounted for about 15 percent of industry revenue in the first half of 2024, while Saudi bank-affiliated managers retained 63.5 percent. 

“The industry AUM grew 21 percent yoy at end-1H25 to $306.1 billion with roughly half in private funds, followed by discretionary portfolio management, and public funds,” the report added. 

While Saudi bank-affiliated managers still control the majority of revenue, Fitch said the government’s strategic vision aims to grow the industry’s AUM from 23 percent of the gross domestic product in the first half of 2025 to 40 percent by 2030, signaling a profound deepening of the Kingdom’s capital markets.

This projected growth is the latest milestone in a decade-long expansion. The Kingdom’s asset management industry grew 12 percent annually from 2015 to 2024, with total assets reaching nearly $295 billion by the first quarter of 2025, according to S&P Global. 

This sustained upward trajectory, supported by robust growth in local capital markets, has been actively fostered by regulators working to boost the sector’s appeal. 

RIYADH: Sovereign investors across the Middle East and North Africa are on track to lift their combined assets to around $8.8 trillion by 2030, a jump of more than 57 percent in five years. 

According to the latest Global SWF report, MENA state-owned investors deployed $56.3 billion across 97 deals in the first nine months of 2025, with the US emerging as the top destination. 

Inbound sovereign flows into the region, however, remained limited. 

The surge comes as Gulf funds intensify efforts to diversify beyond oil. 

“The MENA region continues its transition to a sustainable, diversified, and resilient model. While oil and gas still play a central role — particularly in the Gulf — diversification is gaining ground,” Global SWF said. 

It added: “Countries are increasingly investing in emerging sectors such as renewable energy, digital technology, artificial intelligence and tourism, seeking to position themselves as regional innovation hubs and global economic players.”

According to the report, the most active investors were the “Oil Five”: Mubadala with $17.4 billion, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with $9.6 billion, Qatar Investment Authority with $7.6 billion, the Saudi Public Investment Fund with $6.2 billion, and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co., or ADQ, with $4.8 billion. 

Beyond the league tables, the report pointed to three broad themes shaping flows. First, Gulf funds remain the global engine of state-owned investment, accounting for about 40 percent of sovereign investor deals year-to-date, despite lower oil prices. 

Second, North America continued to attract the largest ticket sizes, particularly in technology, infrastructure, and real assets. 

Third, inbound flows to MENA remained comparatively modest, suggesting scope for more co-investment and on-shoring of capital as regional projects scale. 

Global SWF, a research firm monitoring sovereign wealth and public pensions, covers state-owned investors — including central banks, and pension schemes — offering data, analysis, and insights on their capital flows, strategies, and governance. 

The post-pandemic upswing in hydrocarbon receipts, asset transfers from governments to funds, and deepening capital-market access have all expanded the firepower of Gulf sovereign investors. 

Many funds have also formalized domestic development mandates, allocating more capital to in-country projects that crowd in private investment while maintaining significant international portfolios for returns, hedging and strategic partnerships. 

Global SWF’s outlook to $8.8 trillion by 2030 reflects this dual track: building at home while investing abroad, with the Gulf as the region’s growth driver. 

PIF illustrates the model: as an enabler of national projects, the fund channels capital, sets standards, and de-risks early-stage ventures so private investors can follow.

As a global investor, it secures partnerships and technologies that feed back into the domestic economy, consistent with its 2030 ambition and mandate. 

PIF’s domestic footprint spans giga-projects such as Neom, the Red Sea, Qiddiya, Diriyah, ROSHN, Soudah and New Murabba, as well as platforms in gaming and esports, tourism, transport, and renewables.

PIF spotlight 

��������’s sovereign wealth fund sits at the heart of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 transformation, tasked with deploying capital both at home, into giga-projects and new industries, and abroad, into strategic stakes that can transfer know-how and supply chains back to the Kingdom. 

Global SWF’s profile of PIF notes its ambition to become one of the world’s largest sovereign investors, with a long-stated goal of reaching around $2 trillion in assets. Recent upgrades and affirmations from rating agencies have reinforced its capacity to raise and deploy capital at scale. 

On the funding side, PIF has diversified well beyond government transfers. It has tapped international debt markets through sukuk and bond programs and maintains multiple channels for capital raising. In February 2024, PIF priced a $2 billion international sukuk that was eight times oversubscribed, part of an ongoing program to broaden its investor base. 

The fund also completed its inaugural international sukuk in 2023, and subsequent communications emphasize four main funding sources: retained earnings, asset monetization/transfer, bank and capital-market debt, and government capital. 

Credit quality has strengthened in parallel with ��������’s sovereign standing. Moody’s upgraded the Kingdom to Aa3 in late 2024 and later raised PIF’s rating to Aa3 as well, while Fitch has affirmed PIF at A+ with a stable outlook — actions that reduce borrowing costs and support the fund’s global issuance plans. 

Ratings agencies tie PIF’s credit to the sovereign’s strength and to the fund’s strategic importance and extraordinary support assessment as a government-related entity. 

Moody’s cited alignment with the state’s rating trajectory and robust credit links, while Fitch equalized PIF’s rating with the sovereign under its government-related entity criteria. These views, combined with the fund’s demonstrated market access, including multiple oversubscribed international sukuk, suggest ample capacity to fund its pipeline.