Private credit is going retail: Financing investment funds — vehicles that extend direct and indirect credit to businesses — will be able to list on Tadawul’s main and parallel markets under new rules currently up for public consultation, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said in a statement. The move would open to retail investors an asset class once reserved for institutional deep pockets via private placements, providing a permanent capital route for credit-hungry mid-market firms.

Think of the new rules as a valve for a tightening liquidity squeeze: The move comes as banks have grown more selective. “There’s a clear pipeline of companies that are growing but still under-served by traditional financing,” senior investment banker Mustafa Fahim tells EnterpriseAM. Taking these funds public would help bridge that gap “by bringing more market-based credit into the system,” he added.

The missing middle will capture the flow: “The real [potential] is in mid-sized companies, industrials, healthcare, education, and some tech-enabled businesses,” Fahim told us, noting that large infrastructure and gigaprojects still have banks and government-backed funding to tap. The new move targets “companies that are scaling well but don’t always have efficient access to flexible credit. That missing middle is where these funds can play a meaningful role,” he said.

Guardrails around risk are conservative but understandable, Fahim told us. On the main market, borrowing is capped at 15% of net asset value, while funds listed on Nomu are allowed to run with higher leverage of up to 50% of fund size, the CMA statement read. Exposure limits are also tightened, with indirect financing funds restricted from allocating 25% or more to a single borrower or group.

Uh, Enterprise… Why does Nomu get more room on leverage? The difference in leverage comes down to the investor base, Fahim explained. Participation in the parallel market is limited to qualified and institutional investors who meet professional, income, or net worth thresholds. These participants are better equipped to assess risk, allowing regulators to tolerate higher leverage.

Meanwhile, on the main market, the tighter restrictions are a safeguard for its broader investor base. While similar vehicles in more mature markets like the US typically run higher leverage to juice returns, the Saudi cap is a tactical choice to keep risk in check. “This is a new product for the market, so the focus is clearly on stability and building investor confidence first,” he said.

How fund managers will likely hunt for alpha: With leverage restricted, fund managers will have to work harder for their returns. “Managers can still generate returns by targeting higher-yield segments and leaning on structuring,” Fahim said. In practice, this means moving up the risk curve into instruments like high-yield sukuk, mezzanine debt, and subordinated structures to drive returns on a risk-adjusted basis.

Tags: