From sandbox to scale: Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority opens the door to regulated robo-advice

Technology is changing the way investment management is delivered. An investor can now answer a series of questions on an app, receive a portfolio matched to their objectives and risk profile, and have that portfolio automatically monitored and rebalanced - with little or no human intervention.

A key stated aim of Saudi Vision 2030 is to increase the use of technology in finance. The digital transformation of the Saudi Arabia investment market started with the gradual introduction of algorithmic and high frequency trading on the Saudi stock exchange ( Tadawul ). Questions began to arise on the regulation of such products and, today, algorithmic trading accounts for more than 25% of all transactions on Tadawul.