August was another positive month for the European ETF industry since promoters enjoyed inflows as economies and securities markets stabilized further after the coronavirus lockdown-induced economic downturn. The combination of above average inflows and the positive performance of underlying markets led to an increase in assets under management from €843.5 bn as of July 31,…
Looking at the actions taken by fund managers and promoters in Europe, it seems like sustainable investing or sustainability is the hot topic in the market. Nearly every company announces that they will or have integrated non-financial criteria into their investment processes or offer funds with a specific approach. On the other hand, it looks…
European investors bought further back into mutual funds and ETFs in July. Since the global equity markets stabilized further, investors returned to long-term mutual funds because they expect the massive stimulus packages from central banks and governments globally to keep interest rates low and to foster global economic growth after the lockdowns caused by the…
As the security markets further recovered from the lockdown-induced downturn caused by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, June was another positive month for the European ETF industry. ETF promoters enjoyed inflows during the month. The combination of above average inflows and the positive performance of underlying markets led to an increase in assets under…
The growth of sustainable investing is constantly accelerating and can be seen as one of the most important growth drivers for the fund industry over the next few years. From my point of view, we may reach the breaking point where the majority of assets are managed with a sustainability-based approach rather than in a…
Property and real estate investments are in general considered as safe-haven investments because bricks and mortar are real assets which can survive a storm in the equity markets. This claim can be considered as true if an investor invests directly into property. But as fund managers try to optimize the return for their investors, this…
The global fund industry has come under pressure as asset managers have witnessed an increasing demand for ESG investments. An increasing number of investors want to make a positive impact on ecological and/or social goals with their investments. Therefore, they would need more transparency on the integration of ESG criteria within the portfolio management process,…
Asset managers around the globe face increasing pressure on management fees since the performance of the average active manager is in a number of cases worse than the performance of their passive peers. One reason for this underperformance can be attributed to the level of fees and expenses charged by active managers since the underperformance…
The coronavirus pandemic hit the European fund industry with declining markets and estimated net outflows of €125.9 bn in the first quarter of 2020. The flows were mainly driven by developments around the spread of the coronavirus and the lockdowns of economies around the globe since these circumstances may lead to a global recession with…
The whole world switched into crisis mode due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus across the globe, sparking a pandemic which closed many businesses and led to lockdowns in some countries. For the asset management industry, this means that most of the employees are now working in a virtual office environment, also known as…