Given the generally positive market environment over the course of October 2022, it was not surprising that the European fund industry enjoyed overall estimated inflows over the course of the month. That said, one needs to bear in mind that the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted delivery chains, increasing interest rates triggered by high and in some cases still further increasing inflation rates are all impacting investor expectations. With regard to this, the estimated flows at the asset type level show that European investors are further in risk-off mode as long-term funds faced overall outflows,

Given the positive market environment over the course of July 2022, it was somewhat surprising that the European fund industry faced outflows over the course of the month. That said, one needs to bear in mind that the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted delivery chains, an increasing inflation and increasing interest rates are impacting the expectations of the investors. The promoters of mutual funds (-€41.2 bn) and ETFs (-€0.4 bn) faced outflows. The outflows from ETFs were the first outflows from these products since March 2020. With regard to accelerating rise of inflation rates and

Assets Under Management in the European Fund Industry Given the current situation in the economies around the globe it was no surprise that the European fund industry faced declining assets under management over the course of the year 2022 so far, as the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted delivery chains, increasing inflation, and interest rate hikes put some pressure on the securities markets. Within this environment the assets under management in the European fund industry decreased from €15.3 tr (as of December 31, 2021) to €13.3 tr at the end of Q2 2022. While ETFs

It was not surprising that May 2022 was in general a negative month for the European fund industry given the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted delivery chains, and the sluggish market environment. That said, the promoters of mutual funds (-€32.3 bn) faced outflows, while the promoters of ETFs (+€2.5 bn) enjoyed inflows. Within this market environment and given the economic uncertainties, one would expect that European investors sold long-term funds and bought money market products. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that European investors further sold money market products (-€6.5 bn) over the course of May

It was not surprising that April 2022 was in general a negative month for the European fund industry given the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted delivery chains, and the sluggish market environment. That said, the promoters of mutual funds (-€20.5 bn) faced outflows, while the promoters of ETFs (+€14.2 bn) enjoyed inflows. Within this market environment and given the economic uncertainties, one would expect that European investors sold long-term funds and bought money market products. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that European investors are still reluctant to buy money market products on a larger scale,

It was not surprising that Q1 2022 was in general a negative quarter for the European fund industry given the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the sluggish market environment. Within this market environment and given the economic uncertainties, one would expect that European investors sold long-term funds and bought money market products. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that European investors sold money market products, which are normally considered safe-haven investments, while long-term products enjoyed overall inflows. In more detail, long-term funds enjoyed estimated net inflows of €25.0 bn, while money market products faced estimated net

It was not surprising that February 2022 was in general a negative month for the European fund industry given the geopolitical situation in Europe, the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the sluggish market environment. That said, the promoters of mutual funds (-€67.6 bn) faced outflows, while the promoters of ETFs (+€9.2 bn) enjoyed inflows. Within this market environment and given the economic uncertainties, one would expect that European investors sold long-term funds and bought money market products. Therefore, it is somewhat surprising that European investors sold money market products, which are normally considered safe-haven investments. As a result, the overall

Inflows into money market products boosted the fund flows for October 2021, while European investors were in general further in a risk-on mode over the course of the month. Given the general market environment it was no surprise that October 2021 was a positive month for the European fund industry since mutual fund (+€105.5 bn) and ETF (+€10.6 bn) promoters enjoyed inflows. The overall flow pattern in Europe showed that investors continued to be in risk-on mode in October even as the general flow pattern was driven by inflows into money market products. In more detail, investors bought further into

European investors were in a mixed mood over the course of April, even as the situation with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe has been easing up. Nevertheless, April 2021 was another positive month for the European fund industry since the promoters of mutual funds (+€69.9 bn) and ETFs (+€16.6 bn) enjoyed inflows. The overall flow pattern in Europe has further normalized as investors in Europe continued to be in risk-on mode in April. In more detail, investors bought further into risky assets as long-term funds (€79.6 bn) and money market products (€7.0 bn) enjoyed estimated net inflows. As

November 2020 was another positive month for the European fund industry since the mutual fund promoters enjoyed inflows (+€74.7 bn). Meanwhile, the market environment has become quite uncertain as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit major markets in Europe and investors feared a second coronavirus lockdown-induced economic downturn. Despite these fears, investors bought into risk assets as long-term funds enjoyed estimated net inflows of €67.4 bn while money market products had estimated inflows of €7.3 bn. Equity funds (+€63.4 bn) were the best-selling asset type overall for November 2020. The category was followed by mixed-assets funds (+€77.6 bn)

European investors bought further back into mutual funds and ETFs in August. Since the global equity markets recovered further, investors returned to long-term mutual funds because they expected the massive stimulus packages from central banks and governments globally to keep interest rates low and to foster global economic growth after the lockdowns caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 are lifted in more countries around the globe. As a result, long-term mutual funds posted overall net inflows for the month. Bond funds (+€19.9 bn) were the best-selling asset type overall for August, followed by equity funds (+€11.0 bn), alternative UCITS funds

The European fund industry enjoyed estimated net inflows of €303.9 bn in 2019 after a rough 2018, when funds had estimated net outflows of €129.2 bn. The flows were mainly driven by discussions about a possible positive outcome in the trade war between the U.S. and China, Brexit developments, the ongoing low interest rate environment, and U.S. rate cuts. Taking this all into account, it was not surprising that 2019 was another positive year for the European fund industry. That said, the flows within equity funds were surprising (Please see the special section on this topic below). Even as the