The net inflow of investment funds in the world exceeded EUR 1 trillion in a single quarter for the first time in history. This is according to the analysis of the European Interest Group for Asset Managers (Efama).
In its latest quarterly report, the Brussels-based Efama charts global trends for the first three months of 2021. For example, net sales of global investment funds increased significantly by 7.3 per cent. The US and Europe both recorded net asset growth of 4.5 per cent.
“This was driven by increased investor confidence in the success of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and the global economic recovery,” said Bernard Delbecque, senior director of research at Efama (pictured).
Long-term funds also did well. Net sales rose from EUR 584 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 to EUR 807 billion in the first three months of this year. According to Efama, the US accounted for the highest net sales in the quarter (EUR 445 billion), followed by the Asia-Pacific region (EUR 304 billion) and Europe (EUR 198 billion).
Multi-Asset Funds
Equity funds had the highest net sales (EUR 293 billion), thanks to their continued strong performance in Europe (EUR 133 billion) and the recovery in the United States (EUR 96 billion).Net sales of bond funds also remained strong (EUR 265 billion). This is due to the stable high net income in the United States (EUR 199 billion).
Source: Efama International Statistics Q1 2021
The multi-asset funds also performed exemplarily in the first quarter of this year. Efama speaks of robust net inflows (EUR 189 billion) in the first three months of 2021, up from EUR 122 billion in Q4 2020. China accounted for EUR 89 billion in net sales, followed by Europe (EUR 38 billion) and Canada (EUR 32 billion).
Money Market Funds
Global money market funds (MMFs) saw an increase in net inflows of EUR 143 billion. In Q4 2020, net inflows were still EUR 75 billion, in Q1 2021 they were EUR 218 billion.
Europe saw negative net sales of MMFs (EUR 80 billion), compared to net inflows of EUR 44 billion in Q4 2020. In the US, MMFs recorded positive net sales of EUR 136 billion, compared with net outflows of EUR 59 billion in Q4 2020.
China recorded the highest net inflow of money market funds of the quarter, at - converted - EUR 144 billion.