2017 an “exceptional” year for funds

2017 was described as an “exceptional” year for fund sales in Europe after setting a new record.

Net sales of Ucits and regulated alternative investment funds, known as ‘AIFs’, reached € 937 billion, beating the 2015 record by more than €200 billion and rising from €457 billion in 2016.

Total assets under management (AUM) in the European funds industry reached €15.69 trillion, having crossed the €15 trillion mark during the year.

Ucits funds (ex-money market) saw a net €667 billion of inflows compared to €167 billion in 2016, the European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) reported.

Efama’s 2017 figures also showed:

The figures are contained in the Efama ‘Investment Funds Industry Fact Sheet’ for full-year 2017 and comprise data from 28 national fund associations representing more than 99% of regulated fund assets in Europe.

Latest data also showed that net sales fell to their lowest level of 2017 in December, though Bernard Delbecque, director of economics and research at Efama, said the reversal in flows was normal for the time of year.

“Net sales of Ucits and AIF in December dropped to the lowest level of the year. This primarily reflected net outflows from money market funds, a normal development at year end, as well as a noteworthy drop in net sales of bond funds amid uncertainty over interest rates.”

Peter de Proft, Efama director general, said: “The strong net sales of European investment funds in 2017 testify to investors’ confidence in the general economic outlook and the quality of the Ucits and AIF frameworks.

“They also confirm that the wide range of investment strategies and risk mitigation techniques used by Ucits and AIF acts as a driving force in the fund industry by allowing investors to find funds that meet their needs and expectations in terms of market performance. “

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