Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Dumps U.S. Equities Amid Q3 Portfolio Bloodbath
Saudi Arabia's $700B Public Investment Fund just pulled the ripcord on major U.S. holdings—right as markets tanked 15% last quarter. Here's the damage.
The Great American Sell-Off
PIF liquidated positions in blue-chip tech and energy stocks while the Fed's monetary tightening hammered valuations. No sector was spared.
Portfolio CPR Fails
Despite aggressive rebalancing attempts, the sovereign fund's U.S. exposure still bled out—proving even petrodollar giants can't time the market perfectly.
Another quarter, another 'strategic adjustment' from the world's most overpaid asset managers. At least they're consistent.
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Major Stock Moves
The PIF sold its full stakes in Pinterest (PINS), Linde Plc (LIN), Prologis Inc. (PLD), and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD). It also sold out of Cummins Inc. (CMI), BeOne Medicines Inc. (ONC), and Avery Dennison Corp. (AVY). In addition, it cut its stake in Lucid Group (LCID), which stayed in the portfolio but at a lower size. The PIF kept its holdings in Uber Technologies (UBER) and Electronic Arts (EA).
Furthermore, the exits came with clear shifts in value. For example, the PIF sold about one million shares of Cummins, which cut its stake by about $359 million. It reduced its Linde position by more than 400,000 shares, which lowered its stake by roughly $205 million. It also sold shares in Air Products, BeOne Medicines, and Avery Dennison, which lowered the combined value of those positions by about $171 million.
At the close of the quarter, Uber was the largest U.S. holding at about $7.1 billion. Electronic Arts followed with a valuation of about $5 billion. Lucid held the third spot at about $4.2 billion, even after the small trim. Take Two Interactive Software (TTWO) came next at about $2.9 billion. Claritev Corp. stayed in the portfolio at a far smaller size.
Meanwhile, the total portfolio now leans more toward a compact list of stocks. The top five names account for almost the entire U.S. book, indicating a shift toward a tight and simple mix.
The PIF has been clear that it wants to place more funds in Saudi projects. The fund allocated $57 billion to work in 2024 across key local areas, and it plans to place about $70 billion after 2025. This plan lines up with the goals of Vision 2030, which seeks to build new growth paths in the kingdom.
Moreover, the latest filing came just before a planned meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald TRUMP at the White House. The talks are expected to cover security, chip supply, and nuclear plans. They may also touch on Saudi plans to invest large sums in the U.S. under prior pledges.
Looking ahead, the PIF plans to share more details on its investment plan for 2026 through 2030 early next year. For now, the third quarter filing shows a clear move toward home assets and a smaller set of U.S. stocks.
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