Neuberger Berman Gets Saudi License for Fund Management

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) licensed Neuberger Berman Saudi Investment to manage investments and operate funds in the kingdom, the regulator said.

The license lets the New York-based asset manager offer discretionary portfolio management and run mutual funds for institutional and retail clients in Saudi Arabia. Neuberger Berman had roughly $500 billion in assets under management globally as of the end of last year.

The CMA has stepped up licensing of foreign asset managers over the past three years as Saudi Arabia pushes to deepen its capital markets and attract international capital. The Public Investment Fund's growth and the government's privatization program have created demand for specialized fund managers.

Neuberger Berman joins a growing list of global firms with Saudi licenses, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Franklin Templeton. The Saudi asset management industry has expanded rapidly since the kingdom opened its stock exchange to foreign investors in 2015 and later eased rules for foreign fund managers.

The license covers both onshore and cross-border fund distribution, allowing Neuberger Berman to market its funds to Saudi investors through local channels. The firm already had a presence in the Middle East through its Dubai office, which serves institutional clients across the region.

Saudi Arabia's CMA has issued more than a dozen licenses to foreign asset managers in the last two years, part of the Financial Sector Development Program under Vision 2030. The program targets raising the asset management industry's contribution to non-oil GDP and increasing the number of listed companies on the Saudi Exchange.

Neuberger Berman's Saudi unit will compete with local players like NCB Capital and Al Rajhi Capital, as well as other international firms that have set up shop in Riyadh. The firm has not disclosed a timeline for launching its first Saudi-domiciled funds.