Net assets of UCITS declined by 4.6 percent to €9,284 billion and 24 European countries recorded a decline in net assets, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).
Net assets of alternative investment funds (AIF) dropped by 0.4 percent to €5,873 billion. Nine countries recorded positive asset growth in 2018.
EFAMA also found that net sales of UCITS and AIF totalled €245 billion in 2018 (€948 billion in 2017).
Meanwhile, UCITS net sales amounted to €117 billion (€740 billion in 2017). 16 countries attracted positive net sales in 2018, with four countries recording net sales larger than €10 billion: Luxembourg (€61.6 billion), Ireland (€47.4 billion), Switzerland (€12.7 billion) and Spain (€10.3 billion).
AIF recorded net sales of €128 billion (€208 billion in 2017), and 15 countries registered net inflows in 2018.
The total number of UCITS and AIFs increased by 2.7 percent in 2018 to 61,994 (33,359 UCITS and 28,547 AIFs).
Bernard Delbecque, senior director for economics and research, commented: “Last year, was a difficult year for the European asset management industry. The steep fall in world stock markets at the end of the year resulted in a decrease in the net assets of UCITS and AIFs.”
“In addition, investors’ caution over a growth slowdown, trade tensions, political uncertainty, stock market volatility and reduced monetary policy stimulus led to a sharp drop in net sales of UCITS and AIFs.”
