EFAMA Dec. 2019 UCITS Flows
A release on "2019 UCITS and AIF Results," tells us, "The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) ... published its latest monthly Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet and 2019 overview of net sales data of UCITS and AIFs. After the challenging year 2018, 2019 ended as a good year for the European investment fund industry. The good momentum built in November was confirmed in December with net sales of UCITS and AIFs over the period totaling EUR 70 billion (EUR 71 billion for the previous month) and bringing total net assets to EUR 17,796 billion or a 1% increase over the period. In December, UCITS recorded net inflows of EUR 45 billion (EUR 58 billion in November). A slowdown driven by net outflows in UCITS money market funds of EUR 18 billion, compared to net inflows of EUR 10 billion in November. However, this was counterbalanced by strong inflows in long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) with EUR 62 billion of net sales, up from 48 billion in November.... Full year results showed that the abatement of the geopolitical risks and trade tensions during the fall pushed up stock prices, whereas the fall in interest rates boosted the bond market. This resulted in a sharp increase in the value of assets and solid net sales of UCITS." The release continues, "Bond funds had an excellent year, marked by a steep increase in net sales of EUR 299 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 32 billion in 2018. Central Banks' move towards more dovish monetary policy in response to weaker global growth pushed bond yields downwards and convinced investors that the low interest rate world were there to stay. Turning to low risk assets like bonds in this context appeared as a safe move." EFAMA adds, "Money market funds also recorded strong net sales in 2019 with registered net inflows of EUR 84 billion over the year, compared to net outflows of EUR 10 billion in 2018. Investors seeking for safety and liquidity rather than capital gains considered money market funds as a good investment solution to deal with uncertainty." According to EFAMA's Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet, UCITS money market net sales were down EUR 17.6 billion in December 2019, but were up EUR 84 billion YTD. AIFs money market net sales fell in December and YTD, down EUR 1.2 billion and EUR 21.6 billion, respectively. Net Sales in UCITS bond funds were up EUR 23.2 billion, while net assets for AIFs bond funds were down EUR 2.7 billion. As of year end 2019, EFAMA counts 682 money market funds in Europe with total net assets of EUR 1,326 billion.
