Alternative investment funds (AIFs) showed a marked drop in 2021 to €75 billion, compared with €187 billion in 2020.
According to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) in its 2022 industry Fact Book, this drop is as a result of the decision taken by several large Dutch pension funds to stop managing their assets within AIF wrapper structures.
More than €40 billion of long-term Ucits were purchased each month in 2021, leading to net sales of Ucits at an all-time record of €812 billion.
Equity funds attracted more than half of total Ucits net inflows in 2021, according to EFAMA as investor confidence was boosted by positive growth prospects and buoyant stock markets during the year.
Net assets of sustainable Ucits funds reached €3.1 trillion at the end of 2021, which increased the share of sustainable funds in the total net assets of Ucits to 24%.
Specifically, net assets of SFDR Article 8 (ESG-linked funds) funds totalled €2.6 trillion, while SFDR Article 9 (ESG and impact focused) funds reported €491 billion of net assets at the end of 2021.
The EFAMA data showed that Ucits and AIFs have surged in popularity over the past decade.
Net assets of Ucits and AIFs owned by European investors amounted was €16 trillion at the end of 2021, compared to €6.1 trillion in 2011, an increase of 150% over 10 years.
Investment from non-European investors has also surged in this time. The net assets of European funds owned by non-European investors rose from €1.6 trillion in 2011 to €4.7 trillion in 2021.
EFAMA’s director general Tanguy van de Werve said: “Beyond providing in-depth analysis of recent trends in the European investment fund industry, this year’s edition of the Fact Book analyses several issues highly relevant for our industry, including the current limitations of the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the review of the ELTIF regulation, the opportunity cost of saving excessively in bank deposits, as well as some proposals to amend the money market funds regulation. We hope that these analyses will contribute to a better understanding of the structural and regulatory environment that affects the outlook for the industry.”
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