Rush for fund liquidations cuts number of European products
THE NUMBER of investment funds on offer across Europe shrank last quarter after fund liquidations surged 27 per cent, figures out yesterday show.
Despite an uptick in the number of bond fund launches, the number of funds across Europe fell by 425 for the three months ending June versus the previous quarter.
The figures follow a longstanding pattern on show over the past two years, with the net size of the European fund universe falling consistently since the start of 2011.
Overall, 432 funds were launched across Europe in the second quarter this year, while 502 funds were liquidated and 355 funds were merged.
Liquidations were 27 per cent higher versus the first quarter, while fund mergers stayed constant at 355 mergers versus 340 in the period a year earlier.
However, the slower rate of growth in fund launches from quarter to quarter failed to cushion the fall in fund numbers.
The 432 fund launches in the second quarter were only marginally higher than the first quarter, when 435 funds launched.
The figures, published by Lipper, also showed 37 per cent of all funds for sale are equity funds.