Larry Fink: BlackRock-PIF investment platform aims to ‘elevate capital markets’ in Saudi Arabia

• Agreement marks “next milestone of BlackRock and PIF investing side-by-side”
• PIF is “a large investor globally, a large investor in the United States,” says BlackRock Chairman and CEO 
• By 2030, PIF and its portfolio companies will invest $230 billion in the U.S., supporting the creation of over 440,000 U.S. jobs

A new Riyadh-based investment platform planned under an agreement between PIF and BlackRock aims to “elevate the capital markets” in Saudi Arabia, the Chairman and CEO of the world’s largest asset manager has said.

Larry Fink said that BlackRock Riyadh Investment Management (BRIM), announced on Tuesday, is another example of “BlackRock and PIF investing side-by-side domestically,” and is set to attract more foreign institutional investment in Saudi Arabia. 

“This is a really exciting milestone in terms of the development of Saudi capital markets,” Fink told the PIF News Network. “BlackRock Riyadh Investment Management… is not just the intersection between the world and Saudi Arabia, but our hope now is to be bringing capital back into Saudi Arabia.” 

Under a memorandum of understanding signed between BlackRock and PIF, BlackRock will establish a Riyadh-based multi-asset class investment platform, anchored by an initial investment mandate of up to $5 billion from PIF, subject to the achievement of agreed milestones between the parties.

Under the first-of-its-kind partnership, BlackRock Saudi Arabia and PIF announced the intention to establish BRIM, which will encompass investment strategies across a range of asset classes, all of which are expected to be managed by a Riyadh-based portfolio management team and supported by BlackRock’s industry-leading global asset management platform.

PIF, which has approximately $925 billion in assets under management (AUM), is playing a leading role in advancing Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation and diversification, as well as driving global economies. 

In the U.S., for example, PIF invested more than $100 billion between 2017 and 2023, generating 103,000 U.S. jobs and $33 billion in gross domestic product (GDP). By 2030, PIF and its portfolio companies will invest $230 billion in the U.S., supporting the creation of over 440,000 US jobs.

“PIF [has] been an enormous investor within Saudi Arabia, and a large investor globally, a large investor in the United States,” said Fink. 

“PIF is becoming one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world, nearly a trillion dollars today. A good part of it has been well recognized internationally by its international investments. And this is just part of the… elevation of PIF in the world,” he added. 

“Having a partnership with the fastest-growing sovereign wealth fund in the world is a good example of the connection that we do culturally have together and the opportunities we see as long-term investors.”