Euro area investment fund statistics: fourth quarter of 2018

• In the fourth quarter of 2018 the outstanding amount of shares/units issued by investment funds other than money market funds was €10,990 billion, €667 billion lower than in the third quarter of 2018.
• Investment funds other than money market funds reduced their holdings of both equity and debt securities issued by non-euro area residents and also by euro area residents.
• In terms of investment funds by type, the largest transactions were recorded in bond funds, with an outflow of €36 billion, and in mixed funds, with an outflow of €20 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018.
• The outstanding amount of shares/units issued by money market funds was €1,151 billion, €33 billion higher than in the third quarter of 2018.

Data for investment fund shares/units issued

In the fourth quarter of 2018 the outstanding amount of shares/units issued by investment funds other than money market funds was €667 billion lower than in the third quarter of 2018. This development was accounted for by -€611 billion in other changes (including price changes) and -€56 billion in net issuance of shares/units. The annual growth rate of shares/units issued by investment funds other than money market funds, calculated on the basis of transactions, was 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Data for investment funds' holdings of debt securities Data for investment funds' holdings of equity and investment fund shares/units

Within the assets of investment funds other than money market funds, the annual growth rate of debt securities was 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2018, with transactions amounting to -€52 billion during this period. In the case of equity, the corresponding annual growth rate was 2.2%, with transactions totalling -€26 billion. For holdings of investment fund shares/units, the annual growth rate was 1.8% and transactions amounted to -€15 billion.

Data for investment fund shares/units issued by type of investment fund

In terms of the type of investment fund, the annual growth rate of shares/units issued by bond funds was -0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018. In the same period, transactions in shares/units issued by bond funds amounted to -€36 billion. In the case of equity funds, the corresponding annual growth rate was 3.0%, with transactions of -€9 billion. For mixed funds, the corresponding figures were 4.3% and -€20 billion.

In terms of holdings by issuing sector, the annual growth rate of debt securities issued by euro area general government was 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018. In the same period, the net purchases of debt securities issued by the euro area general government amounted to €8 billion. In the case of debt securities issued by the private sector, the annual growth rate was 2.4%, whereby the net sales amounted to €18 billion. For debt securities issued by non-euro area residents, the corresponding annual growth rate was 2.6%, with net sales of €41 billion.

The outstanding amount of shares/units issued by money market funds was €33 billion higher than in the third quarter of 2018. This development was accounted for by €2 billion in other changes (including price changes) and €31 billion in net issuance of shares/units. The annual growth rate of shares/units issued by money market funds, calculated on the basis of transactions, was -0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Within the assets of money market funds, the annual growth rate of debt securities holdings was -4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2018, with transactions amounting to €2 billion, which reflected net sales of €13 billion related to debt securities issued by euro area residents and net purchases of €15 billion in debt securities issued by non-euro area residents. For deposits and loan claims, the annual growth rate was 19.6% and transactions during the fourth quarter of 2018 amounted to €36 billion.

Annex

Table: Annex to the press release on euro area investment funds

Statistical Data Warehouse:

All money market funds time series
All investment funds other than money market funds time series

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Notes:

• Money market funds are presented separately in this press release since they are classified in the monetary financial institutions sector within the European statistical framework.
• "Euro area private sector" refers to total euro area excluding general government.
• Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release and in annex tables lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Figures shown in annex table are a snapshot of the data as at the time of the current release.