Saudi wealth fund PIF slashes reported holdings of US equities

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund slashed the number of US stocks it reported owning at the end of the first quarter, roughly halving its direct holdings in those equities.

The Riyadh-based Public Investment Fund (PIF) held US-traded stocks with a market value of about $18 billion as of March 31, down from $35 billion at year-end, according to an analysis of a Form 13F filed Wednesday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The report shows the Saudi fund no longer holds numerous tech stocks, including stakes of $600 million or more in each of Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Salesforce Inc. The wealth fund replaced its direct holdings in these and other tech stocks with call options on a lesser number of shares, a move that allows it to maintain some exposure to the companies with less capital at risk.

The Saudi report also dropped entire stakes in US financial and travel companies that it held at year-end. These included a $602 million stake in BlackRock Inc., a $942 million investment in Carnival Corp. and a $757 million position in Booking Holdings Inc.

The PIF is funded through a mixture of borrowing, cash and asset transfers from the government, along with retained earnings from its investments. Institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds that oversee $100 million or more of equities traded on a US exchange are required to disclose their holdings at the end of each quarter through a Form 13F.