12/01/2012
By Ilonka Oudenampsen
The flight into bonds continued in the third quarter of 2011, as bond funds continued to see net inflows of €7bn while all other asset classes experienced net outflows, statistics by the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) revealed today.
Although net inflows into bonds have reduced to €7bn from €70bn in the second quarter, bond funds were still the most popular asset class worldwide in the third quarter of 2011. Investment fund assets worldwide declined by 4.7% during the quarter to stand at €18.58trn at the end of September 2011.
Worldwide net cash flows into investment funds turned negative during Q3, registering net outflows of €104bn, compared to net inflows of €147bn in the previous quarter. Long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) experienced net outflows of €58bn, compared to net inflows of €206bn in Q2. Net outflows from long-term funds amounted to €78bn in Europe and €13bn in the United States during the quarter.
Equity funds saw net outflows of €79bn, compared to net inflows of €16bn in the previous quarter, while balanced/mixed funds also experienced a turnaround in net sales during the quarter to register net outflows of €14bn.
Money market funds experienced reduced net outflows of €46bn, compared to €59bn in the second quarter of 2011. The US’ net withdrawals increased from €32bn to €42bn, while Europe experienced reduced net outflows of €5bn, compared to net outflows of €30bn in the second quarter.
At the end of Q3, assets of equity funds represented 36% and bond funds represented 22% of all investment fund assets globally. The asset share of money market funds and balanced/mixed funds was 19% and 11% respectively.
Other stories you may find of interest:
Investment fund assets at €17.36tr worldwide at end of Q3 2010
The latest quarterly international statistical release from the European Fund and Asset Management Association shows investment fund assets worldwide stood at €17.36 trillion at the end of September 2010, down slightly on the previous quarter’s €17.5tr
Public pension funds invest 50% more in hedge funds
Pension funds have increased their allocation to hedge funds from 3.6% to 6.6% between 2007 and 2011, according to the latest survey by research company Preqin
