Forbes Middle East, a licensed edition of Forbes for the Arab world, has launched its ‘Top 40 Asset Managers 2025’ list, celebrating the region’s most influential leaders who are shaping the future of investment landscape.
They collectively managed more than $439 billion in assets in 2024, spanning local and international equities, debt funds, discretionary portfolios, real estate investments, REITs, and private equity.
To create this list, Forbes Middle East ranked asset managers handling public money on a fiduciary basis, excluding sovereign wealth funds and private/family offices. The ranking was based on a weighted evaluation of assets under management (AUM), AUM growth (2023-2024), leadership experience, tenure, key achievements over the past year, and a preference for independent firms over bank-backed ones.
Rashed Sharif, CEO of SNB Capital, secured the top position, managing $63.73 billion in AUM in 2024. The firm also oversaw a $12.35 billion secondary offering for Saudi Aramco, one of the largest in the EMEA region since 2000.
Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp, maintained his second place, with $53 billion in AUM. Meanwhile, Al Rajhi Capital’s Waleed AlRashed AlHumaid jumped from sixth place in 2024 to third this year, managing $32.86 billion in assets.
Saudi Arabia dominates the list with 19 asset managers securing the position in the list, highlighting the strength of the Kingdom’s stock exchange. The UAE and Kuwait follow with six entries each. Notably, Faisal Al-Hamad, CEO of NBK Wealth, is the only newcomer to the top 10. Kuwait-based NBK Wealth, the investment arm of NBK Group, managed $22 billion in AUM in 2024.
The region’s asset managers also played a key role in debt and sukuk issuances. KFH Capital led and arranged over $17.8 billion in sukuk issuances for sovereign and corporate clients in 2024, while Kamco Invest managed nine bond and sukuk issuances worth $4.2 billion.
These firms have also played a pivotal role in driving innovation across investment and wealth management. In April 2024, Mohammed Alardhi led the launch of Investcorp’s $1 billion platform, Investcorp Golden Horizon, in partnership with the China Investment Corporation, to invest in high-growth companies across the GCC and China.
On the real estate front, in May 2024, Mazin Baghdadi’s alinma capital, in collaboration with Mohammed Al Nahdi Real Estate, introduced the $365.3 million Alinma-Al Nahdi Real Estate Fund to develop over 1.6 million square meters of land in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Similarly, Zaid Mohammed Almufarih oversaw Albilad Capital’s launch of four private real estate funds, totaling $1.1 billion. Meanwhile, Amr Abol-Enein led CI Capital Asset Management to a key milestone with the launch of its first Shariah-compliant equity tracker fund alongside a USD fixed-income fund.
Top 10 Asset Managers 2025
1, Rashed Sharif, CEO of SNB Capital, HQ: Saudi Arabia
2, Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp, HQ: Bahrain
3, Waleed AlRashed AlHumaid, CEO of Al Rajhi Capital, HQ: Saudi Arabia
4, Tariq Al-Sudairy, Managing Director & CEO of Jadwa Investment, HQ: Saudi Arabia
5, Abdullah Abdulrahman Alshwer, CEO of Riyad Capital, HQ: Saudi Arabia
6, Mazin Baghdadi, CEO & Managing Director of alinma capital, HQ: Saudi Arabia
7, Hisham Alrayes, Group CEO of GFH Financial Group (GFH), HQ: Bahrain
8, Faisal Al-Hamad, CEO of NBK Wealth, HQ: Kuwait
9, Faisal Mansour Sarkhou, CEO of Kamco Invest, HQ: Kuwait
10, Karim Awad Group, CEO & Chairman of the Executive Committee at EFG Holding, HQ: Egypt
