The second quarter of 2019 was marked by two main developments in the European investment fund industry: the continued bond fund rally and persisting outflows from equity funds., according to the latest Quarterly Statistical Release from The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).
Bernard Delbecque, Senior Director for Economics and Research, says: “Slower growth and reduced inflationary risk raised the status of long-term government bonds as safe-havens for investors in Q2 2019. At the same time, the US-China trade war, geopolitical tensions and Brexit uncertainty resulted in global growth worries and stock-market volatility, which led to a rise in investor risk aversion and a fall in demand for equity funds.”
Total net assets of UCITS and AIFs increased by 1.7 per cent to a new all-time high level (EUR16,540 billion). Net assets of UCITS increased by 1.4per cent to EUR10,144 billion, while net assets of AIFs increased by 2.2per cent to EUR6,396 billion.
UCITS and AIFs recorded net sales of EUR89 billion in Q2 2019, up from EUR79 billion in Q1 2019. UCITS registered net sales of EUR41 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR51 billion in Q1 2019 with Twenty-one countries attracting positive net sales in the quarter. AIFs net sales meanwhile, amounted to EUR48 billion, up from EUR28 billion in Q1 2019. Seventeen countries registered net inflows in Q2 2019.
