Total assets under management in Europe continued rising in 2021 and reached an estimated €31.3trn at the end of September, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association's (EFAMA) latest Asset Management in Europe report.

As reported by our sister title, Insurance Asset Management, the latest figure is an increase from €28.4trn at the end of 2020.

Investment fund assets represented €15.371bn or 54% of total AuM at the end of 2020. In addition, the report revealed that at the end of 2020, bond assets accounted for 40% of investment portfolios managed by asset managers in Europe, compared to 31% for equity assets and 7% for money market and cash equivalents. The remainder of the portfolio (23%) was made up of other assets, such as infrastructure, hedge funds, structured products, and private equity.

By the end of Q1 2021, asset managers in Europe applied an ESG investment approach to circa €11trn of assets, of which about €6trn (or 55%) are managed in investment funds, and €5trn in discretionary funds.

The introduction of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in March 2021 led to the emergence of two distinct categories of funds: so-called Article 8 funds, with sustainability characteristics, and Article 9 funds, with sustainability objectives. At end Q1 2021, French asset managers were leaders in the management of SFDR Article 8 and Article 9 funds.

EFAMA director general, Tanguy van de Werve, said assets managers in Europe are “a force to reckon with when it comes to achieving the EU’s Capital Markets Union, digitalisation and ESG objectives”.

Share Story: