Funds had negative returns because of the earthquake in Japan and risks associated with the euro, said András Temmel, general secretary of Bamosz. “A further fall in assets was caused by substantial withdrawals by institutional investors, undoubtedly because of pension fund transfers [meaning the return of employees to the state-run pension system] becoming reality,” he explained.
Investors withdrew HUF 47.4 billion in March, and negative yields reduced total assets by a further HUF 17.2 billion.
Assets managed in open-ended securities funds, which still account for the majority, or 58% of all investment fund assets, fell 1.9% in March. Investors sold HUF 39 billion worth of units in the funds, and negative yields reduced assets by a further HUF 3.3 billion.
Within open-ended funds, assets in equity funds fell 6.2% to HUF 376 billion in March as withdrawals came to HUF 18.6 billion and negative yields reduced assets by more than HUF 6 billion. Money market funds contracted 1.6% to HUF 1,354 billion. Investors sold almost HUF 23 billion of units, but yields came to a positive HUF 1.3 billion.
Among other fund types, guaranteed funds showed a somewhat brighter picture in March, as assets in these funds grew 2.6%, attracting HUF 12.8 billion in fresh capital but posting negative yields of HUF 2.2 billion.
Property funds have drawn relatively less fresh capital over the last several months, and March was no exception. These funds netted fresh capital of HUF 290 million in March, but recorded a total negative yield of HUF 330 million. As a result, property funds had assets of HUF 429 billion at the end of March, virtually unchanged from a month earlier.
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