U.S. and AIFs surpass the 20-billion-dollar threshold.
In recent months, European UCITS-compliant and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) have experienced evolving trends in net inflows and assets under management (AUM), particularly across equity, bond, and mixed funds.
Equity UCITS/AIFs show some sector-specific headwinds, with nuanced investor reactions. For instance, the technology and healthcare sectors have faced challenges due to new competitive technologies, suggesting cautious sentiment or mixed performance in equity sectors emphasizing technology.
On the other hand, bond AIFs, especially in high yield and European credit, show strong gains, implying healthy net inflows and AUM increases in these segments. Two multi-strategy credit AIFs performed well in 2024, benefiting from rising interest rates with gains of 6.6% and 7.7% respectively, primarily through exposure to European and US high yield and structured credit markets.
Mixed/diversifying funds provide positive returns and volatility mitigation, suggesting stable or growing investor interest. Over three years, these funds outperformed gilts significantly.
Regulatory and market infrastructure improvements continue, potentially influencing future inflows and asset growth. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published liquidity management guidelines and regulatory technical standards in April 2025, emphasizing enhanced liquidity risk controls and stress testing by AIF managers.
New focused UCITS ETFs have attracted significant AUM, showing investor appetite for equity strategies despite sector challenges. For example, Lloyd Capital’s focused equity UCITS ETFs reached over $300 million in assets under management.
In May, a net total of 55 billion euros flowed into European UCITS-compliant funds, a decrease from 97 billion euros in April. The capital inflow into mixed funds remained stable at 17 billion euros. Efama, which represents around 98 percent of the assets in UCITS and AIFs in Europe, reported that after slight outflows in April, net inflows for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) rose to 8.4 billion euros in May.
The overall increase in assets under management is 0.8 percent. The assets under management in UCITS increased to 12.62 trillion euros. Bond fund inflows decreased slightly in May, with 15 billion euros added compared to 20 billion euros in April.
Equity AIFs again saw outflows, which have now totaled 47.5 billion euros in the first five months of the year. In May, net inflows for AIFs returned to March levels. Efama statistics aggregate data from 29 national associations in Europe.
This analysis reflects the most current available data as of mid-2025; for comprehensive inflow and AUM statistics, direct industry reports or ESMA fund flow publications would provide supplementary detail.
Other finance-related entities, such as bond AIFs and new focused UCITS ETFs, have witnessed strong gains and significant asset accumulation, while equity AIFs have experienced outflows. Meanwhile, investors seem to be diversifying their portfolios, showing growing interest in mixed/diversifying funds and alternative investment funds (AIFs).
