Archive:Funds and asset management statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here.
- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers funds and asset management statistics, which is part of the financial and insurance sector.
The activities covered by this article include legal entities organised to pool securities or other financial assets, without management, on behalf of shareholders or beneficiaries. The portfolios are customised to achieve specific investment characteristics, such as diversification, risk, rate of return and price volatility. These entities earn interest, dividends and other property income, but have little or no employment and no revenue from the sale of services.
The management of funds, as opposed to the funds themselves, is not included in this activity – see Financial auxiliaries statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1.
An investment fund is a financial investment vehicle designed to spread risks by use of a portfolio, with investments spread for example across shares, bonds or property. Funds can be distinguished between open-ended funds and closed-ended ones, the latter having a fixed number of shares/units that are quoted on an exchange, and the former having an unlimited number of shares/units.
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Main statistical findings
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The growth in net assets of investment funds is shown over more than a decade (from 1992 to 2007) for UCITS and non-UCITS funds among 25 European countries, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA); data refer to the EU-15, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Together the two categories of assets recorded year on year growth during the whole of this period, except in 2002. Growth averaged 14.7 % per year, which could be broken down as 16.1 % per year for non-UCITS net assets and 14.4 % per year for UCITS net assets. By 2007, the net assets managed in investment funds in the 25 European countries for which information are available were valued at EUR 7 909 billion, of which 77.9 % were UCITS.
The level of net assets in investment funds among the Member States for 2007 shows that the largest values of UCITS funds managed in the EU were in Luxembourg and France, while the relatively high value of UCITS assets managed in Ireland is also worth noting, as it exceeded the levels in the United Kingdom, Germany or Spain. As well as the classification between open and closed-ended funds, a further distinction can be made between funds specialising in investments in equities, bonds and money markets, or balanced funds with a mix of these three types of investments. There was a considerable change in the composition of UCITS assets, notably an increase in the importance of equity funds throughout the 1990s and their subsequent decline in 2001 and 2002 as stock market indices fell, followed by a more modest increase in their share in the next four years before falling back again in 2007. The relative importance of bond funds fell in each of the last five years, from 30.9 % in 2002 to 21.7 % in 2007. Money market funds fell from a 39.5 % share in 1992 to just 12.0 % in 2000, and stabilised with a share around 17 % in the last three years for which data are available.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other sources of data include the European Fund and Asset Management Association, Fact Book 2008.
Context
Financial and intermediation services provide instruments to businesses and households in the form of products that are essentially savings or loans, or products to transfer and pool risk. Changes in financing techniques have increased the possibilities open to business to fund investment, while consumers have a wider array of choices for credit, savings and payment methods. At the time of writing this sector is the focus of worldwide attention due to the financial crisis widely experienced across the globe and the impact that this has had on other parts of the economy. This crisis has led to national governments taking over some financial institutions, and providing massive amounts of financial support to others. The crisis has provoked widespread calls for reforms to regulatory bodies and new ways for overseeing the operations and practices of this sector.
There has been considerable EU legislative activity in the sphere of financial and insurance services centred upon the creation of an internal market for financial and insurance services. This work has been conducted through the Financial services action plan (FSAP), which was published by the European Commission in 1999 and the legislative phase completed in 2006.
The absence of cross-border consolidation within the financial and insurance services sector has drawn attention and in September 2007 a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council was adopted (COM (2007) 44) that would tighten the procedures that Member States' supervisory authorities have to follow when assessing proposed mergers and acquisitions in banking, insurance and securities activities. The directive aims to clarify the criteria against which supervisors should assess possible mergers and acquisitions in order to improve clarity and transparency in supervisory assessment and help to ensure a consistent handling of mergers and acquisitions requests across the EU.
A major step in the development of open-ended funds within Europe came with the introduction of Council directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985 on the co-ordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS). Other funds are permitted within the EU, according to national regulations. In July 2008, following on from the 2006 White paper on investment funds (COM(2006) 686), the European Commission adopted a proposal to recast the Council Directive on UCITS (COM (2008) 458). The proposals aim to remove administrative barriers, create a framework for mergers of funds, improve information for retail investors, and improve cooperation between national regulators.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- Directive 2007/44 of 5 September 2007 on procedural rules and evaluation criteria for the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increase of holdings in the financial sector
- COM(2006) 686 of 15 November 2006: white paper on enhancing the single market framework for investment funds
- COM(2008) 458 of 16 July 2008 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS)
External links
See also
- Exchange rates and interest rates
- Financial auxiliaries statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
- Financial credit and leasing sector statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
- Insurance and pension funds statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1