European Ucits and alternative investment funds (AIFs) suffered outflows not seen since the Global Financial Crisis - but flows into sustainable funds remained positive.

Around €137 billion were redeemed in the third quarter of the year from investment funds – the highest since around the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008.

The European Fund and Asset Management Association (Efama) revealed that net outflows from Ucits and AIFs reached €123 billion and €14 billion, respectively. Total AUM was slightly below €19 trillion after a 2.4% drop.

Bernard Delbecque, senior director for economics and research at Efama, said: “Ucits and AIFs suffered a level of net outflows not seen since Q4 2008. A combination of different factors, including high inflation, fears about the outlook for interest rates, and recession risks dampened investor confidence over the summer.”

However, Delbecque noted that funds labelled as Article 9 funds under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation performed well due to a “sustained” demand, which led to net inflows of €14 billion during the quarter.

But Article 8 Ucits funds continued to register net outflows in Q3, which turned negative since the outset of 2022.

Most of the main fund categories registered net outflows over Q3 - except for alternative funds such as private equity or infrastructure, which continued to record positive net sales.

The report showed that net outflows from equity funds soared from €61 billion in Q2 to €99 billion due to market volatility, which reduced investors’ confidence.

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