The European Fund and Asset Management Association has released its quarterly statistical release detailing results for the European investment fund industry for the fourth quarter of 2009 and trends in the industry for the entire year.

The main highlights of the quarterly statistical release include:

• Increase in the value of investment fund assets in 2009: Investment fund assets in Europe increased by 15.6 percent in 2009 (2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009), from EUR 6,088 billion at the end of 2008 to EUR 7,039 billion at the end of 2009
  

• Turnaround in net sales of UCITS: UCITS registered net inflows of EUR 123 billion in 2009, compared to net outflows of EUR 356 billion in 2008
  

• Sustained demand for long-term UCITS: Long-term UCITS (UCITS excluding money market funds) enjoyed net inflows of EUR 165 billion in 2009, due to net inflows into equity funds (EUR 66 billion), bond funds (EUR 72 billion) and balanced funds (EUR 44 billion)
  

• Outflows from money market funds: Investors withdrew EUR 43 billion from money market funds in 2009, down substantially from the EUR 64 billion they invested in 2008
  

• Robust demand for non-UCITS: Special funds reserved to institutional investors gathered EUR 48 billion in 2009, and real estate funds another EUR 4 billion
  

• UCITS accounted for 75 percent of the total European fund market, with a value of EUR 5,299 billion at end 2009
  

The strength of the recovery in investor demand for UCITS and non-UCITS in 2009 is the result of the following factors:

• Low short-term interest rates convinced investors to seek alternative investments to bank deposits to secure higher returns
  

• Low stock prices, plus the confidence generated by the wide-ranging policy actions by governments and central banks, gradually strengthened investor appetite for equity funds
  

• High concentration of wealth in liquid investments encouraged investors to move towards more balanced asset allocations
  

• UCITS’ status as a global brand continued to boost net sales of cross-border funds outside Europe, especially in Asia