The Luxembourg Financial Sector Supervisory Commission reported that the total net assets of undertakings for collective investment, comprising UCIs subject to the 2010 Law, specialised investment funds and Sicars, amounted to €6.208trn at the end of March 2026.
That compared with €6.436trn at 28 February 2026, representing a decrease of 3.55% over one month. Over the previous 12 months, the volume of net assets increased by 7.97%, the regulator added.
The Luxembourg UCI industry registered a negative variation of €228.313bn in March. The CSSF attributed the decline to negative net capital investments of €14.073bn, equivalent to -0.22%, and negative financial market developments amounting to €214.240bn, or -3.33%.
Middle East escalation weighs on markets
The CSSF stated that markets were primarily affected in March by the launch of joint US-Israel military strikes on Iran and the subsequent escalation in the region.
The regulator stated that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, together with damage to key energy infrastructure, disrupted supply routes and triggered a sharp rise in energy prices. It concluded that this renewed inflation concerns and increased interest rate risk.
Against that backdrop, all equity UCI categories experienced steep monthly losses, the CSSF noted. The regulator highlighted particularly sharp declines in Asia and Europe, reflecting those regions’ dependence on imported oil and gas. US equities reported smaller losses, benefiting from favourable currency movements linked to safe-haven flows into the US dollar.
Broad outflows
The CSSF stated that equity UCI categories registered an overall negative capital investment in March, with most categories recording outflows. Inflows were limited to Latin American, Japanese and European equities.
Bond prices were also negatively affected, as interest rate risk rose significantly on fears over the inflationary impact of the war in the Middle East, while credit spreads widened.
In this environment, both the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at their respective monetary policy meetings, emphasising rising inflation risks.
All fixed income UCI categories posted negative monthly returns, despite the favourable currency effect of the substantial appreciation of the US dollar against the euro. Fixed income UCIs nevertheless registered an overall positive net capital investment in March, although there were marked differences between categories. The CSSF noted that the EUR money market category benefited from the largest inflows, while high-yield bonds recorded the largest outflows.
Diversified UCIs recorded a market variation of -3.66% in March and net issues of -0.58%. Funds of funds posted a market variation of -2.66% and net issues of 0.59%.
Fund units
The number of undertakings for collective investment taken into consideration totalled 3,002 at the end of March, compared with 3,005 in the previous month.
A total of 2,020 entities had adopted an umbrella structure, representing 12,315 sub-funds. Including the 982 entities with a traditional UCI structure, the CSSF reported that 13,297 fund units were active in Luxembourg’s financial centre.
During March, 11 undertakings for collective investment were registered on the official list, while 14 were deregistered, the regulator added.
