The Investment Company Institute recently published its quarterly "Worldwide Mutual Fund Assets And Flows" for the First Quarter 2011, which "compiles worldwide statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association, an organization of [45] national mutual fund associations." The report shows that the U.S. continues to represent over half of the global total at 54.9% and that U.S. money fund assets declined by $76.6 billion, or 2.7% in Q1. France, which ranks second with $550.5 billion (11.1%) of the global total, increased its assets by $23.4 billion (4.4%), and 4th-ranked Luxembourg, at 8.0% of assets, also increased assets (by $14.8 billion, or 3.8%). Ireland, which just began breaking out money fund assets on the latest report, ranks 3rd among all money fund managing nations (due to its huge "offshore" or multi-national business) with $476.5 billion, or 9.6% of assets.
The press release on ICI's quarterly report says, "Mutual fund assets worldwide increased 3.7 percent to $25.61 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2011. Worldwide net cash flows into all funds slowed to $78 billion in the first quarter, after registering $152 billion of net inflows in the fourth quarter of 2010. Flows into long-term funds slowed modestly to $179 billion from $196 billion in the previous quarter. Equity funds worldwide had net inflows of $61 billion in the first quarter, down from $92 billion of net flows in the fourth quarter. Flows into bond funds were $57 billion in the first quarter, up from $31 billion of net flows in the previous quarter. Flows out of money market funds accelerated to $101 billion in the first quarter of 2011, after experiencing $45 billion of net outflows in the fourth quarter of 2010."
The report continues, "The growth rate of total mutual fund assets reported in U.S. dollars was boosted by depreciation of the dollar. For example, on a U.S. dollar–denominated basis, mutual fund assets in Europe increased 5.4 percent in the first quarter, compared with a decrease of 0.9 percent on a Euro-denominated basis. On a U.S. dollar–denominated basis, equity fund assets rose 5.0 percent to $11.1 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2011. Balanced/mixed fund assets were up 5.9 percent and money market assets were down 0.5 percent in the first quarter. Bond fund assets increased 3.7 percent in the first quarter to $5.6 trillion."
It explains, "After slowing considerably in the third quarter of 2010, net outflows from money market funds accelerated for the second consecutive quarter. Money market funds worldwide experienced $101 billion of net outflows in the first quarter of 2011, up from $45 billion of outflows in the fourth quarter of 2011. Money market fund in the Americas and in the Asia and Pacific region experienced net outflows of $75 billion and $16 billion, respectively, in the first quarter after both regions posted net inflows of $5 billion, respectively, in the previous quarter. In contrast, net flows out of European money market funds slowed to $12 billion in the first quarter, compared with $55 billion of net outflows in the fourth quarter."
ICI also says, "At the end of the first quarter of 2011, 43 percent of worldwide mutual fund assets were held in equity funds. The asset share of bond funds was 22 percent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 11 percent. Money market fund assets represented 19 percent of the worldwide total. The number of mutual funds worldwide stood at 70,358 at the end of the first quarter of 2011. By type of fund, 40 percent were equity funds, 23 percent were balanced/mixed funds, 18 percent were bond funds, and 5 percent were money market funds."
The 10 largest countries (among the 40 reporting money fund assets), with their total asset translated into dollars in billions (and market share), include: United States $2,727.3 (54.9%), France $550.5 (11.1%), Ireland $476.5 (9.6%), Luxembourg $399.6 (8.0%), Australia $272.4 (5.5%), Mexico $59.9 (1.2%), Korea $55.8 (1.1%), Italy $46.9 (0.9%), Brazil $44.0 (0.9%), South Africa $42.4 (0.9%), Canada $35.5 (0.7%), Japan $26.0 (0.5%), Taiwan $24.8 (0.5%), Switzerland $24.3 (0.5%), China $20.8 (0.4%), Norway $18.0 (0.4%), India $16.5 (0.3%), Chile $15.1 (0.3%), Turkey $15.0 (0.3%), and Finland $14.8 (0.3%).
