Alternative Investments

The ongoing liberalisation of capital markets provides a positive long-term outlook for Saudi Arabia’s alternative investment segment. The Kingdom is a regional leader in mutual fund activity, with the deepest and most varied investment pool in the GCC. Nevertheless, some structural hurdles remain to fund expansion in Saudi Arabia. The lack of arrangements for the mutual recognition of fund licences between the GCC states means that regional funds face constraints to distribution. At the same time, early-stage investment – which has traditionally been dominated by government funds and accelerator schemes – is starting to attract regional interest. With markets in turmoil as a result of the spread of Covid-19 in the first half of 2020, alternative assets may prove to be a more resilient part of the investment landscape.