Europe’s equity funds suffered the worst outflows of any global region in the final quarter of 2022, according to new data.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) said that equity funds globally experienced €52 billion in net outflows in Q4, with Europe’s drop of €102 billion counteracted by strong net inflows of €50 billion in Asia-Pacific.
The European figure was significantly impacted, however, by regulatory changes in the Netherlands, where net outflows of €87 billion followed rules that prompted Dutch pension funds to move investments from alternative investment funds into segregated mandates.
Across all asset classes, net assets of worldwide investment funds decreased by 2.% in euro terms to €61 trillion.
Long-term funds experienced significant net outflows of €197 billion in the period under review, more than three times the €60 billion outflow figure from the prior quarter.
The equity outflows in Europe meant the region suffered the biggest net outflows for all funds combined, at €88 billion, well above the net outflows of €51 billion in the United States, €43 billion in Asia-Pacific, and €15 billion in the Americas (excluding US).
Net sales of bond funds turned negative in the final quarter of 2022 after achieving net inflows of €41 billion in Q3.
The bulk of the €122 billion global outflow came from China (€91 billion), while debt funds in the US recorded outflows of €33 billion.
Conversely, money market funds registered what Efama called “remarkable net inflows”, with a net €325 billion of investor cash findings its way into the products. Europe saw net inflows into money market funds of €170 billion, driven predominantly by Ireland, France, and Luxembourg. The Continent’s total was only marginally behind the €183 billion of net inflows in the US.
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