Last year was an “exceptional year” for the European investment fund industry, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association’s (EFAMA) Q4 2017 results.
The results, released on 12 March, indicated that the combined net assets of UCITS and alternative investment funds (AIF) surpassed €15 trillion.
It also showed that net assets of UCITS increased by 12 percent to €9.7 billion.
Of the largest UCITS domiciles in 2017, Ireland recorded the largest net asset increase at 15.9 percent, followed by Luxembourg, which saw an increase of 11.9 percent.
The UK saw its net asset increase 11.6 percent, while France saw an increase of 9.8 percent.
Eight domiciles attracted net sales larger than €10 billion. These included Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
EFAMA’s quarterly statistical results also indicated that elsewhere in Europe, net assets grew by more than 20 percent, including in Belgium, Hungary, and Poland.
Net assets of AIF increased 7 percent to €5.9 billion. Of the largest AIF domiciles, Luxembourg recorded net asset growth of 15.1 percent, followed by Ireland which recorded an 11.8 percent increase. Germany stood in third place, recording a 6.9 percent increase.
In the AIF market, five domiciles attracted net sales larger than €10 billion. These were Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the UK, and the Netherlands.
The total number of UCITS increased by 4.2 percent to 31,974, whereas the total number of AIF funds increased by 0.3 percent to 28,231.
Net sales of UCITS and AIF reached €949 billion in 2017, compared to €461 billion in 2016.
Commenting on the positive growth, Bernard Delbecque, director of economics and research at EFAMA, said: “2017 was another record year for the European investment fund industry, with 12 European countries recording net asset growth greater than 10 percent.”
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