Saudi’s PIF slashes holdings of US equities: Report

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, has significantly reduced its holdings in US stocks during the first quarter of the year, nearly halving the value of its direct investments in these equities.

According to a Bloomberg report, the $700bn Public Investment Fund (PIF) saw its US-traded stock holdings plummet from $35bn at the end of 2023 to $18bn by March 31.

This information was based on data from a Form 13F filed on Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bloomberg said its analysis of the filing revealed that the PIF cut back on its various tech stock investments, which previously included stakes of $600m or more in Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

These direct holdings were replaced with call options on a smaller number of shares.

Additionally, Bloomberg reported that the PIF also divested a $602m stake in BlackRock, a $942m investment in Carnival, and a $757m position in Booking Holdings.

The details of these holdings were disclosed in compliance with US regulations, which mandate that institutional investors trading $100 million or more in equities must report their holdings at the end of each quarter through a Form 13F.

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