Inflows into the German fund industry hit a 14-year high in September, with a record €71.2 billion, according to figures out this week.
This is the strongest inflow for the first nine months of any year since 2000.
Spezialfonds, funds for institutions, made up three quarters of the total inflows with net sales at €53.4 billion over the period. This represents a 7% increase on the €49.4 billion of inflows from the previous year.
Retail funds raised €26.5 billion over the period, also exceeding the 2013 figure of €21 billion, according to the latest German investment statistics report from the BVI, the funds trade body in Germany.
Within retail, balanced funds led with inflows of €17.1 billion, followed by bond funds with €12.2 billion, reversing July’s results in which bond funds were more popular.
Money market and capital-protected funds both saw small outflows.
Equity funds suffered the worst, with outflows of €3.6 billion – €3 billion of which was withdrawn by investors in September alone. One Dax ETF accounted for a significant €2.8 billion of the total outflows.
Despite these losses, equity funds remained the largest group among retail funds with 36% of market share, having seen assets grow by almost a third to €279 billion over the year to September.
Balanced funds proved the second most popular retail funds, holding 22% of the market share and recording the highest level of growth during the period, with assets increasing by 46% to €168 billion.
Open-ended property funds raised €2.2 billion, but nine funds were liquidated, distributing €1.6 billion from their assets.
Of the €2,300 billion managed by fund companies, Spezialfonds accounted for €1,190 billion, having seen an 11% increase in assets over the nine-month period. Insurance companies gained most from this increase, with €26 billion in fresh money.
Unexpectedly, credit institutions also invested fresh capital of €5.6 billion into Spezialfonds, having refrained from any new investments during the previous year.
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