Saudi Arabia's PIF announces initiatives to boost kingdom's asset management industry

Wealth fund launches Managers Gate Platform and Portfolio Management Development Programme

Riyadh skyline. Saudi Arabia's PIF has established 90 companies since 2017. EPA

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has announced two new initiatives to boost the asset management industry in the kingdom.

Announced on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, the announcements included the PIF Managers Gate Platform and the Portfolio Management Development Programme.

The Managers Gate programme will include a new digital platform to enable collaboration between PIF and external fund managers. The portal will allow secure data sharing, improved communications, and the digitisation of operational and investment due diligence processes, the fund said in a statement on Friday.

It will also promote growth in the asset management ecosystem by exploring potential opportunities and will bolster PIF’s collaboration with fund managers.

The Portfolio Management Development Programme is an educational initiative that will be delivered in partnership with IE University. It will be sponsored by SNB Capital that will provide financial market training to aspiring portfolio managers in Saudi Arabia.

The programme aims to set a “high standard for portfolio management practices” within the Saudi market, and will play a “crucial role in the development and advancement” of financial markets in the kingdom, PIF said.

“The asset management industry plays a vital role to support the efficient allocation of capital and management of risk in the economy, helping to promote economic growth and stability,” said Abdulmajeed Alhagbani, head of securities investment at PIF.

“High-quality professional support, talent and capital are critical enablers of the asset management industry.”

PIF also held its inaugural asset management forum at the FII summit, bringing together key players in the global asset management industry to discuss critical issues and support industry best practices.

One of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, PIF is at the centre of the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative to diversify the country’s economy away from hydrocarbons.

The total volume of the fund's assets under management amounts to more than 2 trillion Saudi riyals ($533 billion) and it aims to double that by 2025, Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said in May.

PIF has been instrumental in creating more than 500,000 jobs and “intends to create 1.8 million direct and indirect jobs”, he added.

It has established 90 companies since 2017 and is building a diversified portfolio by entering into long-term investment opportunities in 13 strategic sectors in Saudi Arabia and globally.

The fund aims to enable promising sectors and contribute to increasing local content by creating partnerships with the private sector, in addition to injecting at least 150 billion rials annually into the local economy.