Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has spent the past few years reshaping the way it invests abroad, but its latest US regulatory filing offers one of the clearest signs yet that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth vehicle is becoming far more selective about where it places money in American equities. The numbers are not dramatic in isolation. The fund’s US-listed portfolio stood at roughly $12 billion at the end of March, down from nearly $13 billion three months earlier. Yet the broader pattern tells a larger story about how Riyadh is rethinking overseas holdings while pouring more money into projects at home.
The filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that PIF now holds stakes in only four publicly traded American companies: Uber Technologies, Electronic Arts, Lucid Group and Claritev. A few years ago, the sovereign fund held positions across dozens of firms spanning technology, finance, entertainment and healthcare. At the end of 2021, the value of those holdings reached almost $57 billion. The latest filing leaves little doubt that the era of wide-ranging US stock purchases has faded.
That retreat has unfolded gradually rather than suddenly. PIF has been cutting positions over several reporting periods, exiting companies that once symbolised its appetite for large foreign bets. Previous filings revealed sales in names such as Meta, PayPal, Shopify, Alibaba and FedEx. Now, even the remaining portfolio looks tighter and more concentrated.
The biggest holdings continue to sit in Uber and Electronic Arts. Uber accounted for roughly $5.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, down from nearly $6 billion at the close of 2025. Electronic Arts remained broadly unchanged at around $5 billion. PIF’s holding in electric vehicle maker Lucid Group slipped to about $1.7 billion, while its smaller position in healthcare data firm Claritev declined sharply in value. The fund also fully exited Allurion Technologies after previously holding more than one million shares.
Market analysts do not see the move as a rejection of US markets. Instead, many view it as part of a wider redistribution of Saudi capital. Tony Hallside, chief executive of STP Partners, described the reduction as a rebalancing exercise tied to domestic spending priorities rather than a loss of faith in American assets. Saudi Arabia’s economic plans under Vision 2030 require enormous financial commitments across tourism, manufacturing, energy, transport and technology. PIF remains central to financing those ambitions.
Ahmed Azzam, head of market research at Equiti Group, argued that the reduction points to tighter portfolio management rather than panic. In his view, the fund appears more interested in keeping exposure concentrated in a handful of companies that still fit Saudi Arabia’s longer-term spending plans. That interpretation fits with PIF’s broader direction over the past two years, during which overseas spending has become more disciplined even as domestic investment has risen sharply.
There is another layer to this story that matters just as much as the equity sales themselves. While trimming stock holdings, Saudi Arabia has increased its purchases of US Treasuries. Data released earlier this year showed that the kingdom’s holdings of American government debt climbed to more than $160 billion in February, the highest level seen in years. Much of the increase came through short-term securities, which are often favoured during periods of uncertainty because they offer liquidity and relatively lower risk.
That combination of fewer equities and more Treasuries paints a clearer picture of how Riyadh currently sees financial markets. Treasury purchases offer yield while keeping cash accessible. Equities, particularly large US technology shares, have become harder to justify for investors worried about valuations, interest rates and geopolitical tension.
Berkshire Hathaway and PIF send a similar message
PIF is not the only heavyweight investor stepping back from broad exposure to American equities. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, long regarded as one of the world’s most closely watched investment houses, has also been cutting stock positions at a striking pace. Berkshire’s latest filing showed that the company sold more shares than it bought during the first quarter and exited several major holdings entirely, including Amazon, Visa, Mastercard and UnitedHealth.
The comparison between Berkshire and PIF has drawn attention because the two institutions arrive from very different places but appear to be reaching similar conclusions. Berkshire sits on a cash pile approaching $400 billion after fourteen consecutive quarters as a net seller of equities. Even its latest purchases, including a large stake in Delta Air Lines and an expanded holding in Alphabet, did little to change the wider picture.
For investors, the symbolism matters. Berkshire has long been viewed as a barometer for how seasoned money managers view American stocks. PIF, meanwhile, has become one of the world’s most influential sovereign investors. When both begin reducing exposure at the same time, markets take notice.
That does not mean either investor expects a collapse in US equities. The American market remains the deepest and most liquid in the world, and both Berkshire and PIF continue to hold sizeable positions. Yet their filings suggest that many large investors are no longer willing to chase expensive shares in the way they once did during years of low interest rates and rapid gains in technology stocks.
Saudi Arabia’s domestic spending plans also help explain why overseas equities have become less central for PIF. The sovereign fund has taken on an enormous list of responsibilities inside the kingdom. It is financing new cities, tourism projects, industrial plants, renewable energy schemes and sporting ventures. Such projects demand long-term funding and tie up capital for years. Keeping too much money locked in foreign equities becomes harder to justify under those circumstances.
Recent comments from Saudi officials have reinforced that direction. PIF recently reduced the share of its assets allocated internationally from 30 per cent to 20 per cent. That adjustment alone signalled that more money would remain inside the kingdom. It also suggested that the sovereign fund sees domestic spending as carrying greater political and economic value than passive ownership of foreign shares.
The timing is also shaped by wider market anxiety. Investors around the world are wrestling with uncertain interest rate expectations, fragile economic growth and rising political tension in several regions. Financial markets across Asia and the Gulf opened lower this week after renewed concerns surrounding Iran and comments from US President Donald Trump increased fears of another escalation in the region.
Oil prices have risen again amid those tensions, with Brent crude climbing above $110 a barrel. Volatility measures in US markets have also moved higher, another sign that investors are becoming more cautious after years of relatively calm trading conditions.
Against that setting, PIF’s latest filing feels less like a dramatic retreat and more like a carefully measured repositioning. The sovereign fund remains one of the largest and most active state-backed investors anywhere in the world. Research firm Global SWF estimated that PIF committed more than $36 billion to investments during 2025, placing it ahead of every other sovereign wealth fund by spending volume.
