Saudi Arabia's AUM to cross $300B in 2 years, says Fitch

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag

Saudi Arabia's assets under management (AUM) are expected to cross $300 billion within a couple of years, said Bashar Al Natoor, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings.

This will be driven by Vision 2030’s Financial Sector Development Program, said the official, adding that there is strong demand for Islamic products, with around 95% of mutual funds being sharia-compliant.

"The industry's AUM reached 22% of GDP in 2023, with private funds three times larger than public funds. Saudi bank-affiliated managers held 63% of industry revenues, but competition from international managers is rising as the government attracts them to Saudi Arabia," he added.

The Kingdom's asset management industry (AMI) is poised for growth in H2 2024–2025, following regulatory reforms, expanding equity and debt capital markets, and increasing numbers of high-net-worth individuals seeking asset-management services, according to Fitch Ratings.

According to data available to Argaam, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said earlier that the size of financial market institutions' AUM hit about SAR 935 billion by the end of Q2 2024, a rise of 3% year-on-year, or SAR 26.6 billion.