The asset management industry is riding the Kingdom’s capital markets upswing and regulatory reform wave, expanding at an annual rate of roughly 12% between 2015-2024, according to a report from S&P Global. Assets under management (AUM) in the Kingdom hit about USD 295 bn as of March of this year. Policymakers are deliberately courting both local and foreign managers with rule changes, product breadth, and easier market access.

The push could lift AUM beyond USD 500 bn by 2030, with knock-on benefits for liquidity, diversification, and sovereign resilience. S&P sees AUM growing 10% per year through to 2030 — that is two percentage points slower than the previously recorded 12% per annum — subject to market conditions.

What’s powering the next leg up: Beyond regulatory reform, growth will hinge on deeper debt and equity markets. Higher issuance, strong employment, and demographic trends alongside the rollout of products like ETFs and REITs, which are widening market access for both local and international retail and institutional investors, are expected to drive momentum.

What it means for our capital markets: As the industry scales up, it will in turn strengthen the bourse’s institutional base, boost liquidity, and attract cross-border flows while also broadening savings options for households and deepening the pool of capital available to be deployed here at home.

Macro spillovers: Deeper domestic capital markets would also broaden the Kingdom’s financing sources and reduce the economy’s reliance on hydrocarbons, playing into the government’s ambitious USD 1 tn diversification agenda. Reforms helped secure an A+ sovereign upgrade in March 2025, and steady inflows of FDI — now averaging USD 25 bn annually or about 2% of GDP — highlight the shift.

Private funds have been the fastest-growing segment, vis-à-vis public funds, and today account for about half the market, or USD 148 bn. Discretionary mandates contribute roughly a third (USD 96 bn), while public funds make up the remaining 18% (USD 51.5 bn).

Real estate remains the dominant asset class, absorbing about 36% of total fund allocations and nearly 50% of private-fund AUM. Equities account for roughly a third overall and close to half of discretionary mandates, while debt and money-market instruments represent only about 13%, though this share is expected to rise as the local fixed-income market matures.

Public participation: Subscriber numbers in public funds rose to 1.6 mn in March 2025, up from just 265k in June 2013, with REITs playing a key role by pulling in retail investors and significantly widening access to local capital markets.

Regulators continue to grease the wheels: The Capital Market Authority amended fund regulations back in July to improve transparency, disclosure, and risk management. Crucially, public funds can now invest in privately placed debt. The change could catalyze the nascent domestic private credit market.

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