First-quarter inflows into long-term Ucits funds, which exclude money markets, were down a third to €39bn compared with the previous quarter, as cautious investors reined back investment in equity funds.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama), which produced the figures, says investors were spooked by unrest in North Africa combined with the Japanese earthquake and Europe’s sovereign debt crises.
Total net assets of Ucits funds declined 0.9% to a fraction less than €6trn. However net assets of non-Ucits vehicles grew 1.2% to nearly €2.2trn. Efama attributes this gain to special funds reserved for institutional investors, which saw inflows of €28bn during the quarter.
Including money markets, total net Ucits inflows are up €4bn compared with the previous quarter. Money markets continue to see outflows, but on a greatly reduced scale to last quarter when €41bn flowed out of these funds. Efama says the net assets of money market funds are back at their pre-crisis levels, suggesting investors are anticipating a pick-up in interest rates.
©2011 funds europe
