real estate funds continue to consolidate their position as the largest drivers in the Kingdom's private investment market, after capturing the largest share of private investment fund assets during the first quarter of 2026 with a value of 380.7 billion riyals, accounting for more than half of the total assets of private funds with a ratio of 54.3%, reflecting the continued attractiveness of the real estate sector as one of the most prominent investment options in the Saudi market.
CMA data showed that the total asset value of private investment funds in the Kingdom increased to about 700.7 billion riyals by the end of the first quarter of this year, compared to about 555.8 billion riyals during the same period in 2025, achieving an annual growth rate of 26%.1%.
According to the Capital Market Authority, the investment fund represents a group of securities that are selected according to specific criteria and principles aimed at achieving various investment objectives, while the profits of these funds usually depend on capital gains resulting from the change in the prices of financial assets, in addition to distribution returns, if any.<Private funds are defined as investment funds that are established within the Kingdom and are not classified as public funds, whose units are offered to investors in accordance with the regulations contained in the Investment Funds Regulation.
Equity funds in second place
Equity funds ranked second with assets amounting to SAR 212.7 billion, accounting for 30.3% of total assets, while the rest of the investments were distributed across several sectors and different types. Private equity funds recorded assets worth SAR 36.1 billion, while the assets of multi-asset funds amounted to about SAR 26.2 billion, followed by debt funds worth more than SAR 22.2 billion.
The assets of financing funds amounted to about SAR 7.8 billion, while the assets of feeder funds reached SAR 5.8 billion, and money market funds recorded about SAR 5 billion. As for venture capital funds, their assets amounted to about 3.8 billion riyals, while commodity funds recorded assets worth about 340 million riyals, while endowment funds came as the lowest category in terms of the size of assets with a value of about 60 million riyals only.
Growth in the number of private investment funds
In a related context, the number of private investment funds witnessed a remarkable growth during the first quarter of 2026, after rising to 1788 funds, compared to 1318 funds during the same period last year, an increase of 470 funds, equivalent to an annual growth rate of 35.7%.
The investor base also continued to expand, as the number of subscribers to private investment funds rose to about 191.8 thousand subscribers by the end of the first quarter of this year, compared to 168.1 thousand subscribers during the same period in 2025, an increase of more than 23.7 thousand subscribers, with a growth rate of 14.1%, an indicator that reflects the growing demand for private investment instruments in the Kingdom.
The number of subscribers to private investment funds increased to about 191.8 thousand subscribers by the end of the first quarter of this year.
