Ucits funds had a good first quarter as they posted net inflows of €49bn, compared to a meagre €1bn in the last quarter of 2009. Investment fund assets worldwide also increased…
in value, up by 6.5%, €17 trillion at the end of the quarter, but this was dampened by outflows from money markets.
Figures released by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) showed that the funds industry has continued getting back on its feet in 2010.
Assets in the European investment fund market increased by 5.8% in the first quarter of the year, reaching €7,445bn. Of this sum, assets invested in Ucits products accounted for €5,610bn, that is 75% of the European fund market.
The association showed that the growth in Ucits assets was significantly higher than the European average in the Nordic countries, with Sweden leading the way with a 10% growth rate. In Central Europe, Ucits asset growth was above average in Romania (33%), Poland (16%) and the Czech Republic (7 %).
There was also a strong growth of 35% in Ucits assets in Switzerland. This was because the Six Swiss Exchange, which reports the Swiss fund data to Efama, is now covering a larger group of Swiss funds than last year.
Efama said that net inflows to long-term funds, that is, all funds excluding money markets, rose to €249bn in the first quarter, from €222bn in the previous quarter. Equity, bond and balanced funds posted inflows of €54 billion, €122bn and €37bn respectively.
As risk appetite begins to come back to the market, money market funds recorded outflows of €294bn. This is more than double the outflows seen in the previous quarter. The sharp increase in outflows offset the increased inflows into long-term funds and led to worldwide investment fund assets posting a total of €45bn in outflows.
©2010 funds europe
