The total assets under management (AUM) of funds in Europe rose to a record high of €22.8 trillion in 2016, according to figures published today by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama).
The figures shows that the total value of AuM in Europe increased 6% in 2016 reaching an estimated 138% of gross domestic product compared with 81% at the end of 2008.
The data, revealed in the ninth edition of Efama’s Asset Management Report, also shows that Europe ranks as the second largest market in the global asset management industry, accounting at the end of 2015 for €68 trillion or 31% of the total amount of assets managed globally.
Investment fund assets represented €11.8 trillion or 52% of total AuM at the end of 2016, with discretionary mandates accounting for the remaining €11.0 trillion or 48%.
At the end of 2015, bond assets accounted for 42% of investments managed in Europe, compared to 32% for equity assets.
Since 2008, the report found, the share of liquid instruments in asset managers’ portfolio has declined from 16% to 8% while there has been a rise from 10% to 19% in the share of other assets, such as real estate, hedge funds, structured products and private equity.
Institutional investors including pension funds and insurance companies represented the largest client category of the European asset management industry, accounting for 73% of total AuM at the end of 2015.
Efama director general Peter De Proft said: “The total amount of assets managed in Europe confirms the important role played by asset managers to fund new investment projects and generate returns for millions of savers and investors.
“I am confident that asset managers will continue to develop their role in the future as the Capital Markets Union project delivers on its goal of improving the access of European businesses to capital markets.”
The report is primarily based on data received from Efama national member associations on the value of the assets managed in their countries.
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