With the rise of ETFs, index mutual funds had been out favour with European investors until the year 2015. But even as index funds got some positive momentum since 2016, ETFs still experienced higher inflows. While I was analysing the year-to-date flows at the end of August, I was surprised that index funds (+€52.5 bn)…
After outflows in August, the promoters of ETFs in Europe enjoyed above average inflows in September. These led, in combination with the positive performance of the underlying markets, to an increase in assets under management in the European ETF industry from €757.0 bn as of August 31, 2019, to €795.5 bn at the end of…
The study “Searching for Growth in an Age of Disruption” conducted by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman and Morgan Stanley Research, estimates a mere one per cent compound annual growth rate for the revenues of asset managers. According to the authors of the study, the slowdown in revenue growth is driven by a growing unwillingness…
A look at the fund flows in Europe for the year 2019 so far (-€73.0 bn) reveals that the European fund industry faces another difficult year. In more detail, April 2019 marked the twelfth consecutive month with outflows from long-term mutual funds. In aggregate, these outflows were so high that 2018 came in as the…
The negative fund flows trend in Europe continued in April as the securities markets showed a volatile, but positive, trend. As a consequence, April was the twelfth month in a row long-term mutual funds posted net outflows after 16 consecutive months of net inflows. Taking the current interest rate environment into account, it was surprising…
Investors, market observers, and regulators always raise questions about the competitiveness of the European exchange-traded fund industry since the assets under management seem to be concentrated among a few ETF promoters. Generally speaking, I would agree with the statement that one needs to be concerned if a few players are dominating a market, but not…
Multi-asset funds have been a hot topic for European investors since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis because there were some funds that showed very limited losses despite the rough market environment. Investor interest reached even higher after the euro crisis in 2011 as a number of funds continued to show quite a stable…
The promoters of ETFs in Europe enjoyed net inflows for April. These inflows led, in combination with a positive performance of the underlying markets, to increased assets under management in the European ETF industry. In more detail, the assets under management in the European ETF industry increased from €725.2 bn as of March 31, 2019,…
The negative trend with regard to fund flows in Europe continued in March even as the securities markets rebounded. As a consequence, March was the eleventh month in a row long-term mutual funds posted net outflows after 16 consecutive months of net inflows. Given the current interest rate environment, it was surprising that bond funds…
The promoters of ETFs in Europe enjoyed net inflows for March. These inflows led, in combination with a positive performance of the underlying markets, to increased assets under management in the European ETF industry. In more detail, the assets under management in the European ETF industry increased from €707.3 bn as of February 28, 2019,…