Best investment platforms in Saudi Arabia for expats: the 2026 guide

Riyad Capital is the investment arm of Riyad Bank, another of Saudi Arabia's largest banking groups, offering CMA-regulated brokerage services for Tadawul alongside a range of mutual funds and discretionary portfolio management services.

Riyad Capital is included here primarily for expats who already hold a Riyad Bank account and would prefer to keep their banking and investing relationships with the same institution. As with the other bank-linked brokerages on this list, the platform experience is more conservative than app-first competitors, but the local regulatory standing and integration with an existing bank account can simplify funding and account management.

Riyad Capital suits Saudi-based expats who:

• Already bank with Riyad Bank and want a linked brokerage

• Want a single relationship covering banking, funds and Tadawul trading

• Are comfortable with a traditional, bank-led onboarding process

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How to choose, by goal

I want the lowest-cost way to invest in global markets: Interactive Brokers. Its currency conversion rates and per-share commissions are difficult for any alternative to match, and it's open to Saudi residents with no minimum deposit, though it doesn't provide direct Tadawul access.

I want exposure to the Saudi stock market (Tadawul): Derayah Financial for a modern, app-based CMA-regulated brokerage with direct Tadawul access, or a bank-linked option such as Al Rajhi Capital, SNB Capital or Riyad Capital if you already hold an account with one of those banks.

My investments need to be Sharia-compliant: Wahed Invest for a fully managed, Shariah-board-supervised portfolio, Baraka if you want self-directed control with built-in halal screening, or Al Rajhi Capital if you want Sharia compliance built into a bank-linked brokerage by default.

I'm completely new to investing: Wahed Invest, for a guided, fully managed portfolio with a low $100 minimum, or XTB if zero-commission global stock trading with no minimum deposit matters most to you.

I want both global diversification and local Saudi market exposure: A combination of Interactive Brokers (or Saxo Bank) for global markets and Derayah Financial for direct Tadawul access is the most common pairing among Saudi-based expats who want both.

Understanding Saudi investment regulation: CMA, SAMA and Tadawul

Saudi Arabia's financial regulatory structure is more centralised than the UAE's. Rather than multiple free-zone regulators, two federal authorities cover almost everything an expat investor needs to know about, plus the exchange itself.

CMA (Capital Market Authority): the primary regulator for Saudi Arabia's securities market, responsible for licensing brokerages, asset managers and investment funds, and for supervising Tadawul, the Saudi Exchange. Every locally licensed brokerage in this guide, Wahed Invest, Baraka, Derayah Financial, Al Rajhi Capital, SNB Capital and Riyad Capital, holds a CMA licence. The CMA also regulates Nomu, the parallel market for smaller and growth-stage companies.

SAMA (Saudi Central Bank): regulates banks and payment institutions, including the bank accounts most expats will use to fund their investment accounts. SAMA doesn't directly regulate brokerages, but its oversight of the banking system is relevant for anything involving moving money in and out of Saudi Arabia, including currency conversion and international transfers.

Tadawul (the Saudi Exchange): the main stock exchange, one of the largest in the Middle East by market capitalisation, dominated by large-cap Saudi companies across energy, banking, materials and telecoms. Foreign residents, including expats, can generally trade Tadawul-listed shares through a CMA-licensed local brokerage once their account is set up, though specific eligibility and account types can vary by broker and should be confirmed directly.

On tax: Saudi Arabia does not levy personal income tax on salaries or, in most cases, on individual investment gains for expats. Zakat, the Islamic wealth tax, applies primarily to Saudi and GCC nationals and Saudi-owned businesses rather than to individual expat investment accounts, though the rules around business structures can be more involved. Your home-country tax position is a separate matter, and depends on your nationality and tax residency status, which we cover in our nationality-specific tax guides.

How to open an investment account as a Saudi resident

Account opening requirements differ a little depending on whether you're opening an account with a CMA-licensed local brokerage or an international platform such as Interactive Brokers, Saxo Bank or XTB. Having the following ready before you start covers most cases:

• A valid Iqama (Saudi residency permit), which is the primary identity document local brokerages and banks will ask for

• A copy of your passport's bio-data and visa pages

• Details of a Saudi bank account in your name (often required for local CMA-regulated brokerages, since funding and withdrawals are typically routed through a local bank, such as Al Rajhi Bank, SNB or Riyad Bank)

• Proof of address in Saudi Arabia, where requested (a recent utility bill or tenancy contract is usually accepted)

• Your tax residency information, including any foreign tax identification numbers (for example a US Social Security Number if you are a US citizen, due to FATCA reporting requirements that apply regardless of where you live)

International platforms such as Interactive Brokers and XTB typically complete identity verification digitally via document upload and approve accounts within a few business days, without requiring a Saudi bank account to open the account (though one is useful for funding). CMA-licensed local brokerages, particularly bank-linked ones such as Al Rajhi Capital, SNB Capital and Riyad Capital, generally require an existing or newly opened account with the parent bank, and onboarding can take longer as a result. Derayah Financial and the CMA-licensed entities of Wahed Invest and Baraka offer more streamlined, app-based onboarding for residents with a valid Iqama.

Funding your account and managing currency conversion

Most international platforms in this guide quote prices and hold portfolios in US dollars, while your salary and savings in Saudi Arabia are most likely in Saudi riyals (SAR). Like the UAE dirham, the Saudi riyal has been pegged to the US dollar (at 3.75 SAR per USD) since 1986, so the exchange rate itself carries essentially no risk, but the conversion fee your bank or platform charges to move between SAR and USD can vary significantly.

A standard Saudi bank transfer that converts SAR to USD as part of an international wire often carries a spread above the interbank rate, plus a flat transfer fee. Interactive Brokers, by contrast, converts currency at close to the interbank rate (around 0.002-0.005%) once funds arrive in your account. For larger or regular transfers, many Saudi-based expats first convert SAR to USD using a low-cost transfer service such as Wise, then send the USD on to their international brokerage, which can meaningfully reduce the cumulative cost of investing month after month. For CMA-regulated local brokerages funded directly from a Saudi bank account in SAR, this conversion step generally isn't needed.