We publish here a sneak peak of a major Caceis-Funds Europe survey about hybrid funds across Europe.
Discover all the findings from our Hybrid Funds in 2024 report in association with Caceis here.
Of the 124 anonymised asset management firms around Europe who responded to our survey, over half (71) described themselves as predominantly a traditional investment manager, such as a provider of mutual funds.
Under a third of firms described themselves as predominantly an alternative investor. Sixteen were providers of third-party management company services, such as ManCos, SuperManCos, or Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs).
Of the total of 124 firms surveyed, 109 said they currently offer, or plan to offer, at least one hybrid fund. Of the 124 firms, fifteen said they neither offered nor planned to offer at least one hybrid fund.
Out of the firms that currently offer hybrid funds 65 said they had between two to five hybrid funds in their product range, while 34 firms offer a single hybrid fund. Only one of the firms surveyed offers more than five hybrid funds.
Geographically, just over a quarter of responding firms were based in the UK, with 30 based in Germany, 28 in the Netherlands, 26 in France and eight self-designated as ‘other’.
Robert Munday, director of products & client solutions for private equity & real estate solutions at Caceis, believes that the UK is widely seen as a preferred domicile for hybrid funds, which should be reflected in the coming years with the accelerated launch of more LTAFs in the UK.
“Just over half the respondents believe that the current lack of standardised reporting for hybrid funds will create difficulties for institutional investors,” Munday says. “The enhanced digital offer of Caceis and our extensive client base will allow us to align our clients’ expectations with our existing and planned digital solutions.”
“Just over half the respondents believe that the current lack of standardised reporting for hybrid funds will create difficulties for institutional investors”
-Robert Munday, director of products & client solutions for private equity & real estate solutions, Caceis
When asked about the extent to which hybrid funds offer an opportunity to outperform funds that invest in public markets, almost half of the firms surveyed (61) said “significantly”. Just over a quarter (32) selected “moderately”, while 18 chose “very significantly” and nine opted for “very limited”. Just three said “don’t know” while one said “not at all”.
A similar but not identical spread of responses was observed when firms were asked to rank their perception of the extent to which hybrid funds offer investors reduced volatility compared to public market funds. Of the 124 respondents, over a third (44) answered “significantly” and just under a third (39) said “moderately”.
Nineteen firms said “very significantly”, 14 said “very limited” and just four apiece said either “not at all” or “don’t know”.
Asked to rank the importance of the ability of hybrid funds to target specific investment outcomes, such as income generation or capital appreciation, almost half of the 124 firms surveyed said “significantly important”, with 33 firms regarding this as “very important”, and 24 as “moderately important”. Only seven firms described this ability as “not very important”, none as “not at all important” with two “don’t knows”.
Read more of the findings from our Hybrid Funds in 2024 survey report, in association with Caceis.
