👀 News from the flow side #1 : What happened in January in Europe?

23 February 2021

In January 2021, mutual fund flows in Europe continue to be very sustained despite stocks markets’ pauses and bond prices falling. Total flows reached €90bn which is the third-highest figure in the past 12 years. It is also close to December’s all-time record high of €102bn (Morningstar Jan 2020).

Active funds dominate the flows in January with nearly 60% of inflows. Active equity fund flows were again the big winners in this period of pandemic (see previous posts) at €40bn close to November 2020 12-year record.

Passive equity fund flows reached €12bn a significant decrease after the record reached in December 2020 at €23bn which was the second-best month of inflows over the past 12 years. Yet passive fund flows continue to be sustained above their one-year average of €8bn.

In the fixed income space, active flows dominate but are down 22% at €22bn in the context of rising interest rates while passive flows are only down 5% at €6bn.

👉When analyzing active and passive funds, independence is the key to give a fair view from both sides.

Marlene Hassine Konqui