Investment fund assets worldwide increased 3.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 to EUR39.4 trillion, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.
In US dollar terms, worldwide investment fund assets increased 4.0 per cent to USD44.0 trillion at end Q3 2016.
Worldwide net cash inflows increased to EUR437 billion, up from EUR207 billion in the second quarter of 2016. Net sales amounted to EUR171 billion in Europe, compared to EUR84 billion in the US.
Long-term funds (all funds excluding money market funds) recorded net sales of 394 billion, compared to EUR218 billion in the second quarter of 2016.
Equity funds recorded net inflows of EUR42 billion, against net outflows of EUR17 billion in the previous quarter.
Bond funds posted net sales of EUR253 billion, up from EUR131 billion in the second quarter of 2016.
Balanced/mixed funds registered net sales of EUR61 billion, up from EUR58 billion in the previous quarter.
Money market funds saw a reversal in flows, increasing from net outflows of EUR11 billion in Q2 2016 to net inflows of EUR44 billion in Q3.
At the end of the third quarter of the year, assets of equity funds and bond funds represented 39 per cent and 22 per cent of all investment fund assets worldwide, respectively. Of the remaining assets, money market funds represented 12 per cent and the asset share of balanced/mixed funds was 18 per cent.
The market share of the ten largest countries/regions in the global market were the US (46.9 per cent), Europe (33.8 per cent), Australia (3.8 per cent), Japan (3.6 per cent), Brazil (3.5 per cent), Canada (3.0 per cent), China (2.9 per cent), Rep. of Korea (1.0 per cent), India (0.5 per cent) and South Africa (0.4 per cent).