The total net assets of undertakings for collective investment, including UCIs subject to the 2010 Law, specialised investment funds and investment companies in risk capital (Sicars), stood at €5,659.544bn as at 30 September 2024, the Luxembourg Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) said in a issued on 6 November.
Luxembourg’s UCI industry (essentially, mutual funds) saw an increase of €20.604bn during the month of September, said the CSSF. That represents an increase of 0.37% from the previous month (when net assets stood at €5,638.94bn). This is due to the positive development of financial markets (€47.901bn, or +0.85%) and despite negative net capital investments (-€27.297bn, or -0.48%).
UCI net assets have gone up every month (except April) this year. Over the last 12 months, the volume of net assets has increased by 10.58%.
“The most notable event during the month is the large positive performance reported by the Asian equities UCI category, which was driven by a surge in Chinese equities, following the announcement of a significant stimulus package by the Chinese central bank, the most significant one since the covid crisis, which includes interest rates cuts, reducing reserve requirements for banks and support for the housing sector,” said the CSSF in its communiqué. “The other equity UCI categories reported mixed performances, in the absence of any new significant economic development.”
Monetary policy decisions were “widely anticipated,” added the regulator. “The performance of fixed income UCIs was mostly positive, supported by a decrease in interest rates (given the negative relationship between yields and prices) driven by a second consecutive 25bps interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and a 50bps cut by the Fed (the first cut in more than four years), as well as expectations of further monetary easing supported by dovish comments from officials and positive data on inflation.”
13,723 fund units
There were 3,194 undertakings for collective investment recorded at the end of September, a decrease of 11 compared to August (3,205). 2,094 entities used an umbrella structure, representing 12,623 sub-funds, noted the CSSF in its press release. Adding the 1,100 entities that had a “traditional” UCI structure, the total number of active fund units in Luxembourg came to 13,723 (down from 13,749 from the month before).