Led by a steep drop in bond investments, European Ucits investment funds saw net outflows rise more than five-fold in February when compared to a month earlier due to worries over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and over rising inflation, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association, Efama.
Funds defined as Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities, or Ucits, recorded net outflows of 43 billion euro in February, compared to net outflows of EUR 8 billion in January 2022.
Combined with alternative investment funds, AIFs, net fund outflows stood at 48 billion euro in February compared to 18 billion euro a month earlier. Total net assets of Ucits and AIFs decreased by 2.2% in February to 20,886 billion, according to Efama.
“Concerns surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp fall in net sales of Ucits equity and multi-asset funds in February, whereas net outflows from Ucits bond funds further increased in a context of rising inflation and expectations of tighter monetary policy,” said Bernard Delbecque, Senior Director for Economics and Research at EFAMA.
Long-term Ucits inflows narrow sharply
Long-term Ucits funds, excluding money market funds, registered net inflows of 2 billion euro in February, down from 51 billion in January 2022. Equity funds recorded net sales of 8 billion euro, compared to 25 billion a month earlier. Net sales of multi-asset funds amounted to 11 billion, down from 36 billion in January.
Ucits money market funds recorded net outflows of EUR 45 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 59 billion in January 2022.
AIFs registered net outflows of EUR 5 billion, compared to net outflows of EUR 10 billion in January 2022.
Efama’s monthly data is based net sales and net assets for Ucits and AIFs in 29 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and United Kingdom.
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