European funds see highest Q1 inflows since 2007

The fund research agency’s monthly snapshot of European fund flow trends, showed inflows into European funds for the first quarter of €87.4bn, the highest level since 2007’s €133.4bn.

According to Lipper, the flows were underpinned by the best sales of bond funds (€57.9bn) in an opening quarter for the decade.

At group level, the best performers were Allianz/PIMCO, which brought in €7.3bn, while AXA/AllianceBernstein saw flows of €5.7bn. M&G/Prudential came in third, with €4.3bn.

Ed Moisson, head of UK and cross-border research at Lipper, said: “Having said this, when money market funds are excluded in order to look at ‘long-term’ funds, the total for the past three months stands at €77.1bn, better than 2007 (€61.4bn), but lower than 2010 (€104.7bn).”

Mr Morrison added that in 2010, investors withdrew €112.2bn from money market funds, but said moves into other asset classes (or out of funds altogether) have slowed “dramatically” since.

Lipper said the asset classes which received the highest inflows were high yield funds, with flows of €17.4bn, particularly in US products, and emerging market debt, with flows of €11.6bn.

The firm said the appetite for equities slowed in March, but the quarter total still stands at €12.2bn, with funds investing in European markets bearing the brunt of withdrawals.

ETFs have accounted for just 5 per of European fund industry sales so far this year at €4.4bn, according to Lipper.