Worldwide investment fund assets decreased by 5.7 per cent to EUR43.99 trillion at the end of Q4 2018, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association’s (EFAMA) latest International Quarterly Statistical Release.
In US dollar terms, fund assets declined by 6.8 per cent to USD 50.4 trillion. Net inflows into worldwide investment funds amounted to EUR120 billion, down from EUR169 billion in Q3 2018. Net inflows reached EUR114 billion in the United States, EUR39 billion in Japan and EUR25 billion in Canada, whereas both Europe and China recorded net outflows of EUR40 billion.
Long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) recorded net inflows of EUR48 billion, down from EUR215 billion in Q3 2018. Equity funds recorded net sales of EUR99 billion, up from EUR83 billion in Q3 2018, while Japan recorded the largest net sales (EUR46 billion), followed by the United States (EUR24 billion) and China (14 billion).
Bond funds recorded net outflows of EUR57 billion, compared to net inflows of EUR78 billion in Q3 2018. The United States and Europe recorded net outflows of EUR49 billion and EUR43 billion, respectively, whereas China recorded net inflows of EUR46 billion.
Balanced/mixed funds registered net outflows of EUR7 billion, compared to net inflows of EUR19 billion in Q3 2018. Net outflows were recorded in both the United States and Europe (EUR13 billion and EUR6 billion, respectively), whereas Canada benefited from net inflows of EUR13 billion.
Money market funds registered net inflows of EUR71 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR46 billion in Q3 2018. Net inflows amounted to EUR150 billion in the United States and EUR19 billion in Europe, whereas China registered net outflows of EUR97 billion.
At the end of 2018, assets of equity funds and bond funds represented 40.1 per cent and 21.1 per cent of all worldwide investment fund assets, respectively. Money market funds represented 12.1 per cent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 17.2 per cent.
The ten largest countries/regions and their market shares in the world market at the end of 2018 were the United States (46 per cent), Europe (33.6 per cent), Australia (3.9 per cent), Brazil (3.8 per cent), Japan (3.6 per cent), China (3.5 per cent), Canada (3.1 per cent), Rep. of Korea (1 per cent), India (0.6 per cent) and South Africa (0.4 per cent).
Bernard Delbecque (pictured), Senior Director for Economics and Research, says: “The decline in worldwide investment fund assets in Q4 2018 was caused by the fall in global stocks. At the same time, equity funds in nearly all participating countries continued to gathered positive net inflows, highlighting a certain degree of investor confidence in equity markets for 2019.”
