International investment fund assets hit an all-time high of €23.8 trillion ($32.8 trillion) as of Dec. 31, according to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.
That is a 7.3% increase from a year earlier. Net inflows totaled €839 billion in 2013, up 1.3% compared with 2012.
U.S. long-term funds attracted €355 billion in net inflows, in 2013, and Europe accounted for €313 billion of the long-term total for 2013.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, net inflows increased by 26% to €229 billion, which EFAMA attributed to inflows into long-term funds. Long-term funds in the U.S. recorded €87 billion of net inflows in the fourth quarter, and €72 billion in Europe, contributing to total international inflows to long-term funds of €193 billion over the three months.
Equity funds represented 40% of total assets at the end of 2013, an increase of 3 percentage points over 2012. Bond funds decreased by 2 percentage points to account for 22% of total international investment fund assets. For the three months ended Dec. 31, equity funds increased net inflows by 75% to €107 billion, while bond funds saw net outflows of €11 billion.
The U.S. remains the region with the largest market share of international assets, at 50.6%, followed by Europe at 28.9% and Australia at 5%.
