None of the big Wall Street firms sent their top leaders, but institutions such as Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley sent local and regional executives, some of whom are senior in stature. No one from Blackstone Group, whose chief executive withdrew from the event last week, attended, according to a company official.

Some who did attend said they were there just to do business and dismissed the Khashoggi situation.

“It’s just noise to me,” said Michael Slater, who runs the Middle East and Africa investment business for Northern Trust and is based in Riyadh. “The people I need to see are here, and that’s what I care about.”

The future of the investment conference remains uncertain, and some attendees mingling on the sidelines wondered aloud whether the current crisis would blow over or result in a real reversal of Saudi Arabia’s recent progress. For Saudis who organized the conference, one question that was top of mind was whether corporate media sponsors that withdrew their support, including The New York Times Company, would return next year.

An investment adviser who specializes in business deals between the United States and Saudi Arabia suggested that big banks with brands to protect and Silicon Valley companies that promote ethical investing would be wary of embarking on new deals with Saudi Arabia until concerns about Mr. Khashoggi’s killing were resolved.

Real estate investors from the United States, however, were eagerly prowling the halls, seeking funding for projects in America and looking for opportunities to get involved in infrastructure development in the Middle East.

And in a demonstration of its continued attractiveness as an investment partner, Saudi Aramco announced the signing of 15 deals worth more than $30 billion with companies in eight countries: the United States, France, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, South Korea and India.