UCITS damaged by recession, but outlook remains positive
23 April 2009

Written by Sophie Baker

Cross-border UCITS in Europe suffered in 2008 due to the financial crisis, with EUR 20.8bn of total net outflows sourced in Europe.

The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) published the results of its second survey on cross-border UCITS’s success in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, questioning 22 fund groups with combined assets of EUR 472bn invested in international UCITS.

66 per cent of participants said they expect a recovery of net sales of UCITS in Europe in 2009, following a positive start with cumulated net inflows into UCITS in January and February totalling EUR 30bn.

Third-party distribution providers, particularly third-party global banks and local financial advisors and brokers came out as being key partners in the UCITS distribution landscape in all regions. This, EFAMA said, highlights the importance of understanding the consequences of the financial crisis for these third-party distributors in order to assess or reassess strategies for distribution of cross-border UCITS.

EFAMA concluded that with economic difficulties worldwide, and the slump in economic activity, the success of UCITS in areas such as Asia offered little to offset Europe’s recession. The survey, they said, confirms that European UCITS managers, however, remain confident in the continuing success of UCITS across the globe.