Franklin FTSE Saudi Arabia ETF

FLSA

Market cap $5M

Saudi Arabia is officially opening its capital markets more broadly to foreign investors. Effective February 1, 2026, foreign individuals and institutions will be able to participate directly in the Main Market (Tadawul) without needing to qualify under a special investor regime.

Recommend buying Saudi-focused ETFs like iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia and Franklin FTSE Saudi Arabia to capitalize on economic diversification. KSA and FLSA offer exposure to sectors beyond oil, including financials, technology, and infrastructure, with FLSA having a lower expense ratio. Saudi Arabia's Vision2030 plan drives rapid non-oil sector growth, supported by large-scale projects and increased foreign investment.

Saudi equities, while still down this year, have underperformed emerging markets and outperformed global markets. We examine how FLSA, a little-known ETF that covers Saudi equities, stacks up against its larger peer- KSA, and find that the former, while hardly flawless, does pretty well. Saudi's prospects are still heavily reliant on oil, and conditions here don't look too alluring.