Total assets under management (AUM) by 291 Local investment funds dipped 2.8% y-o-y to SAR 122.6 bn in 2023, according to the latest SAMA data (pdf). Domestic assets accounted for 82.5% of that figure. The number of operating funds rose to 291 in 2023, up from 255 in the previous year.

Domestic shares accounted for 23% of the total AUM, followed by real estate investments (20%), and domestic money market instruments (19%).

The number of open-ended funds in the Kingdom rose 16% y-o-y to 267 in 2023, with SAR 93.3 bn in AUM. Meanwhile, the number of close-ended funds fell 4% y-o-y to 24 over the same period, with SAR 29.3 bn in AUM.

Open-ended vs. close ended funds: Investors can buy or sell shares of open-ended funds directly from the fund manager at the fund’s net asset value, making them the more liquid type of funds. Meanwhile, in close-ended funds, investors trade shares of the fund on the secondary market at either a premium or a discount to the fund’s net asset value.

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