Worldwide investment fund assets fell 5.7% to €43.99 trillion in the last quarter of 2018 as volatility in financial markets rose.
According to the European Fund and Asset Management Association’s (Efama) latest quarterly statistical report, global fund assets, in US dollar terms, declined 6.8% to US$50.4 trillion.
The report found that net inflows into worldwide investment funds in Q4 2018 amounted to €120 billion, down from €169 billion in the third quarter.
Net inflows reached €114 billion in the US, €39 billion in Japan and €25 billion in Canada, whereas both Europe and China recorded net outflows of €40 billion.
Long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) recorded net inflows of €48 billion in Q4, down from €215 billion in Q3 2018.
Equity funds, meanwhile, recorded net sales of €99 billion in Q4, up from €83 billion the previous quarter.
Japan recorded the largest net sales (€46 billion), followed by the US (€24 billion) and China (€14 billion).
Bernard Delbecque, Efama’s senior director for economics and research, said: “The decline in worldwide investment fund assets in Q4 2018 was caused by the fall in global stocks.
“At the same time, equity funds in nearly all participating countries continued to gather positive net inflows, highlighting a certain degree of investor confidence in equity markets for 2019.”
©2019 funds europe
