AN INTERVIEW WITH VICTORIA FERRES
What are you seeing in Saudi Arabia’s asset management and investment landscape?
Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) has made asset management a strategic priority. A wave of recent reforms and consultations has addressed areas including algorithmic trading, foreign investor access, simplified investment funds, overseas investment by Saudi funds, and IPO rules.
The direction is towards a more accessible, sophisticated market, with greater flexibility for managers, stronger governance, and wider distribution opportunities. The aim is liberalisation within a credible regulatory framework, rather than deregulation.
What is changing for private credit managers?
Private credit is developing rapidly, particularly through reforms to the Financing Investment Funds regime. The framework now accommodates a broader range of financing strategies, including indirect financing, and offers greater structural flexibility.
Financing funds can be publicly offered and listed on Tadawul or Nomu, expanding beyond the previous emphasis on privately placed direct-lending products. These developments create opportunities for domestic and international private credit managers.
Why are the Financing Investment Funds changes significant?
The changes help move the market beyond its traditional concentration in equity and real estate funds, providing a clearer route for private credit strategies. Financing funds may also be structured as open-ended vehicles where suitable liquidity management and subscription and redemption arrangements are in place.
Public offering and listing routes could widen the potential investor base, however, managers will still need to assess suitability, liquidity, and regulatory obligations for each strategy.
What does the removal of the Qualified Foreign Investor regime mean?
Beginning 1 February 2026, non-resident foreign investors gained broader direct access to the Saudi main market without having to qualify under the former Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI) regime.
Part of a wider CMA effort to deepen capital markets and attract overseas capital, removing QFI eligibility and registration requirements will help lower barriers to participation for international institutional and individual investors.
Are more international asset managers looking to establish in Saudi Arabia?
There is considerable interest in CMA-regulated operations, including licences to manage investments and operate funds. Increasingly, international managers are assessing substantive Saudi operations rather than relying exclusively on cross-border activity.
But interest should not be confused with easy entry: establishing a regulated presence remains a significant undertaking, requiring planning around licensing, personnel, governance, and distribution.
How important is local substance for managers seeking Saudi capital?
Increasingly important. Depending on the activity and offering route, firms marketing or raising capital may need a Saudi presence or an appropriately licensed local agent.
Beyond formal requirements, Saudi capital providers are placing greater weight on demonstrable long-term commitment, which may include locally based investment professionals, management functions, and funds. Managers should approach the Kingdom as an operating market, not simply a fundraising destination.
Does a Saudi licence allow managers to access the wider GCC?
No, a licence in Saudi Arabia does not confer automatic marketing or operating rights across the GCC. While GCC fund passporting arrangements have been implemented in Saudi Arabia, they are not equivalent to European-style passporting, and local licensed agents retain meaningful responsibilities. Managers must analyse the rules in each relevant jurisdiction.
What other regulatory issues should international managers consider?
Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer compliance remain important areas of supervisory focus, as well as licensing, governance, and the precise rules governing offers and distribution.
Firms should consider the full operating model at the outset, including who performs regulated activities, where investment decisions are taken, what local personnel and controls are needed, and whether any cross-border activity is envisaged.
What role will digitalisation and tokenisation play?
Digitalisation is increasingly prominent in Saudi financial services, including the introduction of permission for robo-advisory services in investment management from March 2026.
Tokenisation is another area to watch. Interest elsewhere in the Gulf, particularly the UAE, and Saudi experimentation with real-estate tokenisation suggest potential for further development. Meaningful scaling, however, would likely require enhancements to the regulatory framework for cryptoassets and tokenised products. AI and financial technology also fit within the Kingdom’s broader Vision 2030 ambitions.
What will determine whether the CMA reforms succeed?
Implementation is the critical test. The most telling indicators will be whether more international managers secure licences and establish genuine Saudi operations. Applications and interest may be rising, but market entry remains demanding.
Saudi Arabia is opening its capital markets faster than it is simplifying entry into them; closing that gap will determine how far regulatory momentum translates into lasting international participation.
