UCITS have continued to enjoy positive net inflows in the third quarter of 2009, with new countries also registering their interest in UCITS, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association's (EFAMA) Quarterly Statistical Release.

Net inflows rose to EUR 70 billion in the third quarter of 2009 from EUR 30 billion in the second quarter of the year. This was fuelled, said EFAMA, by the sustained demand for equity, bond and balanced funds coupled with investors' retreat from money market funds due to low short-term interest rates, and the improved liquidity and functioning of fixed income markets.

Bernard Delbecque, director of economics and research at EFAMA, commented: "The turn-around in net sales of UCITS funds, which started in the first quarter of 2009, strengthened in the second and third quarter as optimism about stock markets and global growth prospects supported investor confidence. In the current context of historically low interest rates, investors are seeing again the merits of diversifying their assets and investing in UCITS."

In total, 19 countries reported positive net sales in the third quarter of 2009, with in-flows particularly strong in Luxembourg (EUR 48 billion) and the United Kingdom (EUR 10 billion). A key finding of the report was that Italy-domiciled funds recorded positive net in-flows for the first time in any quarter since the third quarter of 2005, suggesting that Italian investors are beginning to again see the merits of diversifying their assets and investing in UCITS.

During the first nine months of the year, the strongest level of net inflows was observed in Luxembourg (EUR 52 billion), while France held the second largest share in total net sales in the period from January to September (EUR 36 billion), followed by the United Kingdom (EUR 26 billion) and Switzerland (EUR 8.5 billion).

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