Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — The total value of assets held by public and private investment funds in Saudi Arabia decreased by 1 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to SAR 507.7 billion ($135.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2023.
The number of investment funds rose to 1,209 by the end of the three-month period, the highest on record, including 283 and 926 public and private funds, respectively, Argaam reported, citing a Capital Market Authority (CMA) report.
The number of subscribers to Saudi investment funds stood at nearly 1.13 million in Q3 2023, rising from 901,300 in the previous quarter.
Investment funds include a group of securities, selected based on specific criteria that achieve the fund’s investment objectives and divided into public and private funds.
Profits generated by investment funds are usually capital gains, which are profits resulting from any improvement or change in prices of invested securities, in addition to dividends, if any.
The public funds have 13 investment types, topped by money markets with SAR 32.2 billion, representing 27.5 percent of the public funds’ total assets, Argaam reported.
The local assets of public investment funds accounted for 81 percent of the total or nearly SAR 94.8 billion by the end of Q3 2023, while foreign assets stood at about SAR 22.3 billion.
The value of assets held by equity and real estate funds made up 84 percent of the private funds’ total assets, reaching SAR 183.3 billion and SAR 143.8 billion.
