26 associations representing more than 99.6 percent of total UCITS and non-UCITS assets at end December 2013 provided us with net sales and/or net assets data.
The main developments in December 2013 in the reporting countries can be summarized as follows
- Net inflows into UCITS amounted to EUR 13 billion, down from EUR18 billion in November. This drop came on the back of large net outflows from money market funds and net withdrawals from bond funds during the
month. - Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) registered increased net sales of EUR 31 billion, compared to EUR 21 billion in November. Net sales of equity funds totaled EUR 20 billion, up from EUR 10 billion in November. Net sales of bond funds returned to negative territory in December with net outflows of EUR 6 billion compared to net inflows of EUR 6 billion in the previous month. Balanced funds recorded a rise in net sales to EUR 13 billion, up from 8 billion in November.
- Money market funds registered large net outflows of EUR 19 billion, which can be explained by cyclical end-year withdrawals.
- Total net sales of non-UCITS rose to EUR 18 billion in December, thanks to increased net sales of special funds (funds reserved to institutional investors) of EUR 16 billion, up from EUR 8 billion in November.
- Total net assets of UCITS increased 0.1 percent in December to EUR 6,929 billion, whilst non-UCITS assets grew by 0.3 percent to EUR 2,799 billion. Total assets of UCITS and non-UCITS ended December at EUR 9,727 billion, 0.2 percent higher than at end November.
The year 2013 ended with a strong performance with long-term UCITS registering a jump in net sales as optimism about the future economic outlook encouraged investors back to financial markets, particularly equity markets.
The main developments in 2013 can be summarized as follows:
- Net sales of UCITS and non-UCITS reached EUR 401 billion (EUR 308 billion in 2012).
- UCITS net sales amounted to EUR 229 billion (EUR 194 billion in 2012).
- Long-term UCITS net sales totaled EUR 320 billion (EUR 231 billion in 2012).
- Equity funds registered net sales of EUR 109 billion (EUR 1 billion in 2012).
- Balanced funds registered net sales of EUR 107 billion (EUR 24 billion in 2012).
- Bond funds registered net sales of EUR 72 billion (EUR 200 billion in 2012).
- Money market funds registered net outflows of EUR 91 billion (net outflows of EUR 37 billion in 2012).
- Non-UCITS recorded net inflows of EUR 172 billion (EUR 114 billion in 2012).
- Special funds attracted net sales of EUR 141 billion (EUR 107 billion in 2012).
- Net assets of UCITS and non-UCITS increased to EUR 9,727 billion (EUR 8,916 billion at end 2012)
Overall, 2013 was another good year for the European investment fund industry, thanks to increased investor optimism amid encouraging economic data and rising stock markets. Net sales of UCITS and non-UCITS totaled EUR 401 billion in 2013, whilst net fund assets increased 9% over the course of the year to reach EUR 9.7 trillion.
On the whole, 2013 saw a strong acceleration in the investor demand for equity and balanced funds. This happened despite highly volatile stock markets during the first half of the year. Bond funds continued to attract net new money, albeit significantly less than in 2012 because rising long-term interest rates and persistent uncertainty about bond market developments caused a significant slowdown of investor demand. On the other hand, 2013 was another difficult year for money market funds as historically low levels of short-term interest rates reduced very much the attractiveness of this fund type.
